two months before egypt
by The Eclectic Bookworm
Summary: "And besides, I've gone on plenty of dates before." "Yes, and as I recall, those dates ended with one-night stands and you never making any actual emotional connection," Rory pointed out. "Do you really think it's wise to go on a date again? You've got kids." River took a sip of tea and swallowed. "The Doctor's not like that." AU. Eleven/River.
1. In Which River Meets The Doctor

**Here it is! My very first solely River/11 AU fic! There aren't enough of these on Fanfiction, in my opinion, so I decided to write one. I really like it so far, but I'm not sure if it's too early to tell...**

* * *

"Mangled, ripped, coffee stains, mangled, acceptable, acceptable, cover missing. _Next._" River moved on to the next box of used books. "Acceptable, acceptable, remarkably good condition—"

Vastra groaned good-naturedly and took the box of books off of her friend's desk. "River, we need more used books than that. We shall lose a lot of business if we don't make the deadline, and we don't yet have enough money to order any more new books."

River laughed ruefully. "You're probably right. Can you go see if there are any customers who need helping?"

"That happens to be Jenny's job today," explained Vastra. "And Jenny's working the cash register at the same time, so I'm back here with you."

River grinned. "Lovely. Can I have my books back?"

"You can't be so meticulous, though, River," Vastra reprimanded gently, picking up the box and passing it to her with a little smile. "We need all the books that we can get."

River picked up a book. "Ripped, cover missing, ripped, acceptable—"

Vastra snorted. "You need to stop sorting books for a little while. Tell you what, I shall pick some of the romance novels you dismissed that are only slightly damaged, and you take a break and see if you can find a nice book to read—you could use a day off." She slid off of River's desk and took the catalogue back. "Have fun."

"Isn't it my job to assign the days off?" River teased lightly.

"Yes, but it's my job to tidy up the place, and now Strax is here, so he does that. I'll be taking his original job soon, but right now, Jenny's doing an excellent job of helping customers," said Vastra. "I can take over your job for a little bit; I feel like I should be doing something instead of sitting in the mystery section and reading detective novels."

"Fair enough," said River with a grin. "I could use a break. You're a darling, Vastra," she added with a little wink.

"Married!" Vastra reminded River with a laugh, pointedly waving her left hand so that her wedding ring glittered.

"Oh, like that's going to stop me," River teased, sashaying out of the small office and into the book shop.

_Paternoster Books _(seeing as the bookstore was located on Paternoster Row) was a fairly large bookstore, with an abundance of both used and new books. It was always very sunny, due to the horrendously bright colors that the previous owner had painted it with. River hated those colors, but Charlotte and Ella adored them. Then again, Charlotte, Josh, and Ella adored everything about _Paternoster Books—_it was a constant source of delight to Charlotte that her mother owned a bookshop. River could see her curled in a beanbag chair, reading a book to Josh and Ella. River made a silly face in her daughter's direction (she heard Josh giggle) before heading over to the cash register. "Jenny, any new finds for me?"

"I think there's some new YA lit that just came in, a couple sci-fi novels someone donated, and a really good horror story if that's the way you want to go," Jenny replied.

"Thanks," River said with a grin. "I'll just-"

"Mummy!" Josh barreled up to her, wrapping his arms around her knees. River had to grab the side of Jenny's desk to keep from falling over. "Ella says there's a monster in the books that eats you if you touch it!"

Jenny laughed wryly. "May have a bit of a crisis on your hands first."

River sighed, scooping her son into her arms. "How would Ella know that, Joshy, hmm?"

"She—she—I dunno!" Josh wailed. "Is there a monster in the books, Mummy?"

"Tell you what," said River, "if there _is _a monster, we'll fight it off together."

"I don't wanna," Josh snuffled.

"So I'll fight it for you, with Mum," said Charlotte, hurrying up to River's side and reaching up to take Josh's small hand in her own. "And you can hide behind the sofa. We'll protect you, right, Mum?"

"Of course," River replied, giving her daughter a grateful smile. Charlotte beamed proudly.

"Sorry, Mummy," came Ella's sheepish voice, and River turned awkwardly (after all, she _was _holding a seven-year-old boy in her arms) to frown at her younger daughter. "I didn't mean to scare him." At River's skeptical look, she said hotly, "I _didn't!_"

"You know Josh doesn't like monsters," River reprimanded softly. "Can you try and be a bit nicer?"

Ella shrugged grudgingly.

"Mum!" gasped Charlotte, who hadn't been paying attention to the conversation after her helpful contribution. "Mum, _look!"_ Ella caught sight of whatever had Charlotte so excited as well, letting out a squeal, and River peered over Josh's head to see a man carrying boxes into the building across from them.

"Yes?" said River gently.

"They're _boxes!" _Charlotte squealed. "It's a _new shop_! There's a _new shop_ across the street! And that shop's not had anything in it since before I was born, you said—Mum, we've got to go see it!"

River laughed softly. "Call me if anything comes up, okay, Jenny?"

"No problem," Jenny replied cheerfully.

* * *

She left the store and walked her kids across the not-that-busy Saturday afternoon street, Josh and Ella holding her hands while Charlotte sprinted ahead. Her daughter absolutely adored exploring places, a trait that River both possessed and approved of.

"Is the shop going to have any dolls?" Ella asked.

"Or cookies?" Josh added.

"Why would a shop have cookies? It doesn't look like a bakery," Charlotte called, turning neatly around as she ran, and running straight backwards into the man who'd been unpacking the moving van (thankfully, he wasn't holding anything). The man let out a startled yelp and fell over backward, Charlotte falling down to the side.

River gasped, pulling her children along as she ran to help Charlotte and the unfortunate young man she'd knocked over. "Charlotte!" she reprimanded sharply as soon as she reached the man's side. "Are you all right?" she added belatedly to the man. "I know my daughter is; she's like a cat. Nine lives and all."

Charlotte giggled, jumping up and brushing herself off.

"Yeah, yeah, fine, sorry!" said the man hastily, standing up and running a hand through his dark brown hair before squatting on his heels in front of River's children. "Just a bruise. Or two. Or ten. And that wasn't a joke, I fall down a lot, and I fell down the stairs this morning anyway, but I wasn't hurt. I landed on my sister. She wasn't hurt either!" he added hurriedly. "She's used to it. I'm a bit clumsy. Refreshing to have it not be my fault for once." Charlotte was grinning broadly, and when River glanced at Ella and Josh, she saw that they were smiling too. "Anyway," he concluded, "I'm Doctor John Oswald, but you can call me the Doctor. I hate the name John. And I'm guessing you saw me unpacking and dragged your poor mum over to check things out?"

"Pretty much," said Ella. "But Mummy likes new stores too."

"Does she?" said the Doctor delightedly, looking up at River and smiling broadly. She observed his bow tie with a small grin; it was extremely crooked from his fall. "Hello! Lovely to meet you."

River smiled warmly. On an impulse, she reached forward and straightened his bow tie. His smile widened slightly. "Pleasure," she said. "I'm River Song. These are my children, Josh, Ella, and Charlotte. Charlotte's the one who bowled you over, Ella's the one with the absolutely _marvelous _red hair, and Josh is the boy."

"No kidding," said Charlotte, rolling her eyes. "I'm fairly certain that he guessed that Josh was the boy."

"Well, you never know," said the Doctor with a grin. "I knew a horse named Susan once, and _he _was a boy, so you can never be too careful."

Ella and Charlotte both giggled, and Josh's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. "You know a _horse?_" he said in absolute awe. Josh adored horses. "A real horse?"

"Maybe he's not real at all," said the Doctor thoughtfully. "I'll have to ask him next time I see him. Goodness," he said suddenly, "where are my manners? Come in! A toy shop isn't a toy shop unless there are kids in it, in my opinion—I'm going to be opening a toy shop, in case you didn't know. D'you think, if I ask _really _nicely, your mum would let me steal her and her lovely children for a bit?"

Ella pondered the question with adorable seriousness before finally deciding, "Yes."

"Lovely!" said the Doctor with a grin, before turning back to River. "Mrs. Song?"

"Oh, it's just Miss, actually," said River. "I'm not—I've never been married."

To her surprise, the Doctor didn't question this. In fact, he didn't even seem fazed by it, which was to his credit; most people assumed that River was a divorced mother. "Miss Song, then," he said. "Would you and your children spare a few minutes to look in my toy shop?"

"Gladly," River replied. She rather liked this odd young man.

The building was a large one, much too large for a toy shop. It was painted a hideous shade of pink that looked like someone had vomited a strawberry smoothie onto the walls, and boxes were stacked neatly against a wall.

"Yeah, I'm against the color myself," said the Doctor with a little wince. "Apparently, whoever owned the building before me ran a lingerie store."

"Was that person color-blind?" said River with distaste. "The colors are absolutely disgusting."

"That person was a friend of mine," said the Doctor, "and she was _very _much color-blind. But don't tell her I said that," he whispered. Charlotte, Ella, and Josh all giggled. "Hang on," he said suspiciously, "did I just pick a random family off the street, or did you actually come to see the toy shop? You must find me really weird if I just picked you randomly; I _swear _this isn't a regular thing."

"I already think you're really weird," said Ella cheerfully, "but Mummy owns the bookshop across the street, and I saw you moving in."

"_I _did!" said Charlotte huffily. "I saw him first, I have dibs!"

"Dibs on what?" asked Josh.

"I…I dunno, but I've got dibs on it!" Charlotte said, leading her siblings over to the boxes on the other side of the room.

"You own _Paternoster Books_?" the Doctor asked River curiously. "That's brilliant! I'll have to drop by your bookshop some time. D'you have any good romance novels?"

River glanced over at Charlotte, Ella, and Josh to make sure that they weren't bored (they'd started playing with some of the stuffed animals sitting on top of the boxes) and replied, "I'm a bit of a harsh critic. I honestly prefer a good sci-fi novel."

"Actually," the Doctor confessed in a whisper, "me too. I just figured that romance novels are generally the most popular at bookstores, so you might be interested in those; you know, trying to carry on a conversation with a random woman I've never met."

River laughed. "Oh, I like a good romance, but I find them frustrating sometimes—they're so _predictable. _Do you read any romance novels?"

"Some," said the Doctor with a shrug, and then, "A few," and finally, "Voraciously."

River laughed again, the sort of laugh that caught one by surprise simply because one hadn't been thinking of laughing.

"Ooh, I own a toy store now," the Doctor said with a silly grin, glancing around the books. "I mean, I haven't ordered the toys yet; I've got to get moved in first. But still, this is absolutely wonderful."

"I know what you mean," said River softly. "First time I was unpacking books and shelving them, I couldn't stop smiling. I remember I'd just adopted Charlotte—she was in a papoose while I shelved, and she kept on knocking books out of my hands."

"So how long have you owned _Paternoster Books?_"

"Charlotte's nine now, so I've owned the bookshop for about the same time," River replied, smiling reminiscently.

"No offense," said the Doctor, cocking his head, "but you look a bit young to have owned a bookshop for nine years."

"You're too kind," River laughed. "The building belonged to my granddad. When he died, he left it to me. I was twenty-one, and I'd been off adventuring for a few years, so I came back and pulled together my bookshop with my parents. I adopted Charlotte that year as well, actually."

"Adventuring," the Doctor repeated with impressed incredulity.

"Mummy went all over!" said Josh excitedly, skipping over to the adults. "She went to Paris and Egypt and one of those places with the long names! Sometimes I go with her too. She's an _ar-ky-oll-o-jist,_" he added, completely mangling the word in his meticulous attempt to get it right. "Doctor River Song."

"Archaeologist, love," said River with ill-disguised amusement.

"Yeah, that!" Josh agreed, missing River's little smile. "And she dug up dinosaur bones!"

"That's a _paleontologist," _said River. "An _archaeologist _is a bit different."

"Okay," replied Josh, and skipped back over to his sisters, who were tossing an unfortunate Beanie Baby across the room.

"How old are they?" the Doctor asked.

"Ella and Josh are twins," River replied. "They're both seven."

"They're amazing," he said with a soft little smile. "I love kids. Never had any myself. I'd sort of want someone to raise them with."

"I'm not one to wait around for true love," said River with a shrug. "They're all adopted. I've yet to find someone to spend the rest of my life with who they approve of."

"Who _they—_you take your kids seriously, don't you?" said the Doctor, sounding absolutely awestruck. "I love that. Too many people don't take kids seriously."

"It's why you own a toy shop?" River guessed.

"Too right, Doctor River Song!" said the Doctor enthusiastically. "Ooh, Doctor and Doctor—we should be a detective team or something. I worked at a primary school in London for five years, actually. Me and my sister, we're both teachers, but I got sick of watching all the parents pressure these little kids—barely six or seven—into getting good grades, so I decided that teaching wasn't for me."

River smiled. "I know what you mean. When I was in school, some of the girls in my class were pushed _much _too much by their parents. It's really dreadful; we were nine years old. I feel like they should have had some degree of freedom—"

"—but that doesn't mean that they should slack off either," the Doctor finished. "Find a happy medium."

"Exactly!" said River in absolute delight.

"Can we open one of the boxes, Mister Doctor John Oswald?" Josh asked, tugging at the Doctor's sleeve. "I wanna play with the toys."

River opened her mouth to say no, but the Doctor grinned broadly. "I don't see an issue," he said cheerfully. "Hey, I'll play with you too! I think there's one box with toys in it. Just one thing—" He leaned down and whispered into Josh's ear (in a whisper that was completely audible), "Can you promise not to tell anyone? I don't know if I'm supposed to open the boxes; we'll only open one, is that okay?" Josh grinned and nodded, running off to pick out one to open.

"Toys?" River repeated. "You said you hadn't ordered any toys."

"I haven't," said the Doctor, blushing slightly. "I brought my action figures with me."

She grinned. "I already like you," she said, and the Doctor's blush deepened.

* * *

"And then he took out the superheroes, and he had _girl _superheroes too!" Ella said excitedly, carefully pouring milk into the mixing bowl. "And we played crime fighters, and he was the bad guy, but we won. It was really fun, Gran! Maybe you should come with us sometime!"

Amy smiled warmly as she picked up the bowl and mixed the cookie batter. "I might just have to. This Doctor fellow sounds lovely, doesn't he, Melody?"

Amelia Pond, River's mother, continued to call her daughter "Melody" even after River had decided to change her name. She said that it was because she liked the name, and she'd been the one who'd given it, so she felt that she and Rory still had the right to use it. River didn't mind; the only reason that she'd changed her name was because she'd been going off to Egypt on her first archaeological dig and she wanted to do something monumental to commemorate the occasion.

"He's wonderful," said River cheerfully, taking the cookie tray out of one of her mother's upper cupboards. "Charlotte, can you cut some waxed paper for the tray?"

Charlotte grinned broadly and stood on her tiptoes to reach the roll of waxed paper. "What kind of cookies are we making, Gran?" she asked, taking out a pair of scissors from one of the kitchen drawers.

"I'm thinking chocolate chip," said Amy thoughtfully. "What say you, Joshy?"

"Can I have a chocolate chip?" Josh asked from his perch on the counter. "I like them. They're yummy. Not the cookie, the—the little bitty chocolate piece."

Amy glanced at River (who nodded her assent) and handed Josh a chocolate chip. The boy's eyes lit up and he popped it into his mouth, sucking on it with a patience that not many seven-year-olds possessed.

"What d'you say, love?" River reprimanded gently, taking the freshly cut sheet of waxed paper from Charlotte.

"Can I have another one?" Josh asked, the chocolate chip visible in his mouth as he spoke.

"Just the one," River told him, "and that isn't what you need to say. Gran just gave you something, what do you do?"

"I ask for more?" Josh said hesitantly.

Charlotte giggled and took out Amy's bucket of cookie cutters. Amy's cookie cutter collection had been around since River was growing up, and when River had adopted her children, she and Amy had started adding to it again. It had become a Pond family tradition to make cookies; Amy had made cookies herself with her mother when she was a little girl. "Can we make cookies for the Doctor next time?" she asked, pulling out a cutter in the shape of a heart and examining it carefully. She screwed up her face and tossed it back in, evidently deciding against it. "I bet he'd like cookies."

"Hang on," said River. "I need to see if Josh can figure out what he needs to say to Gran."

Josh bit his lip, evidently seriously mulling over the issue, and finally burst out, "Can I have another chocolate chip, _please?_"

"That's what you need to say after you say the thing you were supposed to say," River told him.

"Umm…umm…thank you for the chocolate chip, Gran…?" Josh tried hesitantly, looking extremely confused. River had a feeling that he had just thrown out a random guess; she'd probably confused him. This was unsurprising, as the sentence she'd spoken had confused her as well.

"_There _we go," said River in amusement. "Yes, you can have another chocolate chip, but remember to say thank you." Then she turned to Charlotte. "I think that's a wonderful idea, Charlotte. What sort of cookie do you think he would like?"

"Obviously we should make cookies that _we _like, Mummy, so we can eat them with him," said Josh sagely from where he was licking Amy's wooden spoon, swinging his legs so that his feet drummed against the cabinets. "He seems like he'd love to share his cookies."

"You can never tell with people, though," commented Ella, sorting through the bucket of cookie cutters. "Some people don't like sharing their cookies, but they're really nice about everything else. Ooh, Gran, a flower! That's a new one. Can I use it for the Doctor's cookie?"

"I don't get cookie cutters just to take up space, do I?" Amy teased. "Go ahead."

"The Doctor won't want a _flower_ cookie!" said Charlotte, as if the very idea was absolutely ridiculous. "He's a _boy._"

"_I _would want a flower cookie," stated Josh through a mouthful of batter. River decided that he'd had enough and gently extricated the spoon from her son's sticky fingers.

"Yeah, but you're my brother, aren't you?" said Charlotte. "You aren't really a _boy._"

"So what is he, then?" Amy asked in amusement.

Charlotte furrowed her brow, and finally came up with, "He's a cyborg."

Josh grinned. "Cool! Can I shoot lasers from my eyes, Charlotte?"

Charlotte shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe. If you can figure out how. Just as long as you don't burn up my Kindle Fire, you can do whatever you want."

River poured out the cookie batter onto the baking tray and picked a large star for her cookie cutter. She'd always liked stars, and when she was exploring the world (with her children, now; she didn't go anywhere without them) she had always brought a pocket telescope so that she could look up at the night sky.

"That looks delicious, Mummy," said Ella, peering over the top of the counter at River's cookie. "Can I have it?"

"What about me, hmm?" River gasped in mock indignation. "I won't have a cookie then!"

"I'll make you a cookie, then," Ella informed her proudly. "And it'll be the prettiest cookie in the world."

"I bet it will be," said River with a delighted smile. "What shape is it going to be?"

"How about an airplane?" Ella asked. "Or a cat?"

"Spaceship!" Josh suggested, holding up a cookie cutter in the shape of a UFO.

"I _love _spaceships, Ella," said River cheerfully. "Can you frost it for me after lunch? I bet Gran and I can make some frosting for the cookies while you're all eating your lunch."

"Can we watch cartoons?" Charlotte asked as Ella hastily cut her cookie.

"You know how to turn it on, right?" Amy replied. "Go crazy."

River lifted Josh off of the counter. "Wash your hands, okay?" she told him, and he nodded obediently. "There's lemonade on the dining room table," she informed Charlotte, "and your sandwiches are in my bag."

"Okay, Mum," Charlotte replied, exiting the kitchen. Josh and Ella trotted after her, the former licking his fingers to make sure he got all of the cookie dough before washing his hands. River had to smile.

* * *

**As always, reviews are appreciated.**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	2. In Which River Discusses Things With Amy

**Thanks for the support and follows! Sorry that this took me so long.**

* * *

"So," said Amy, "any plans for where you're taking the kids?"

River shrugged. "My boss wants me to go on an expedition going to Egypt in two months, but I'm going to have to see if we have enough money for that."

"I'm pretty sure that the bookshop's pulling you through, though," Amy commented, cutting a cookie in the shape of a dragon. "You've been saying that your finances are running out for the last nine years."

River smiled slightly. "True."

"You could put them in school, if you're so worried about financing," said Amy. "We could take care of them while you're off being Doctor River Song and doing whatever it is archaeologists do."

"Homeschooling is the way to go, Mum, even if it means that I have to pay a bit more for plane fare," River replied. "They learn so much more than I ever did in some stuffy old classroom."

"Fair enough," said Amy, finally finishing up the last cookie and putting the tray in the oven.

"D'you have frosting, or was this an excuse for us to talk?" River asked.

"I've got frosting, but I used it as an excuse to talk to you," Amy replied, going over to the refrigerator and opening it. "I really love having you over every Saturday, you know. I'm not looking forward to when you're jetting off to Egypt or wherever else you plan on going." She took out a small plastic tub of vanilla frosting and set it out on the counter.

"Mum, you know I'm not good at staying put," River told her, walking over to the refrigerator and shutting the door.

"You've got the bookshop!" Amy protested gently. "Isn't that reason enough to stay put?"

"Nothing is reason enough to stay put for me, Mum," said River stubbornly, turning to the cabinet next to the refrigerator so that she could take out a knife and spoon.

"Not even if you thought it was best for your kids?" Amy asked quietly. River opened her mouth to argue, wracked her brains for a legitimate argument, didn't find one, and shut her mouth again, deciding instead to take a spoonful of frosting and swirl it around in her mouth. She'd always loved the taste of Amy's frosting, and with her mouth full, she had an excuse for not answering.

River finally swallowed after she couldn't hold the frosting in her mouth much longer. "I don't know," she said truthfully. "I'd have to stay put if the kids wanted to, but I've yet to find someone who I want to stay put _with. _I'm still looking, though."

"Melody," said Amy, "maybe you'd do better to find someone who would fly off to Egypt with you."

"Isn't the whole point of a romantic relationship stability?" River asked, gripping the underside of the counter. "I doubt that I can find a man who could keep me stable and keep me moving at the same time."

Amy took her hand. "You'll never know until you try. Now come on, let's frost some cookies."

River bit her lip. "Mum?"

"Yes?"

"Mum, the trip to Egypt—" She swallowed, staring down at their joined hands. "The trip to Egypt is too good of an opportunity to pass up. Egypt's only the starting point; we'll be exploring all over the world."

"And?" said Amy softly, sounding like she already knew the answer.

"The trip to Egypt means that the kids and I are going to be gone for two years."

Amy inhaled sharply. Then she asked softly, "Have you told them?"

"I intend to."

"_Melody._"

River bit her lip. "I told them that we'd be traveling in two months, but I've yet to tell them for how long. Mum, I don't know how to address it—"

"If you're worried about them missing home," Amy commented, "you can always leave them with us."

"_No," _River replied vehemently. "I'm not going to abandon my kids just because I want to pursue my career. I promise, Mum, if they don't want to go, I'll stay put."

"You promise?" said Amy softly, squeezing her daughter's hand. River looked up at her mother with a grateful smile.

"I promise, Mum."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

* * *

_"Greetings, Earth primitive."_

"Hello, Stephen," said River, rolling her eyes as she walked down the street toward the shop. They'd left Amy's a little bit late, and now it was almost sunset. "For the twenty-second time, can you talk like a normal person over the phone?"

_"My name is not Stephen! It is Strax! It is my battle name!"_

"Right. _Strax. _Okay. I just wanted to check in on the store. Why do you have Jenny's phone?"

_"My genetic relative is incapacitated at the moment,"_ replied Strax on the other end of the line.

"You mean that your sister's using the restroom and you heard her phone ring."

_"Why must you primitives twist everything I say?"_

"How is the store, Strax?"

_"Fine,"_ Strax muttered. _"It is fine. The store is going great. You can probably just head straight upstairs. Vastra wishes for you to know that we're closing up shop in thirty minutes. We are not having a very busy day."_

"Am I going to come in and see you wearing that purple jacket and scaring people off?"

_"I do not scare—"_

"With that battle cry of yours? And telling people that they should 'prepare to die in agony for the glory of my MMORPG game?'"

_"The Sontaran Empire! It is called the Sontaran Empire!"_

"It looks like my day off has come to an end," said River. "Just organize the shelves, Stephen, it's your job, and take off the damned puffy purple jacket."

_"I cannot discard my battle armor! And my name is—"_

River hung up.

"Was Strax being silly again, Mum?" Charlotte asked.

"He scares off a lot of customers," said Ella proudly. "He scared off five on Monday."

"That's the most he's scared in one day," said River stubbornly, "and they weren't planning to buy anything anyway, so it's not like it was a loss. He _intentionally _scared them."

"I like him," said Josh.

"You like everyone, so even though Strax is amazing, that doesn't mean much," said Charlotte dismissively. "You liked Doctor Martha Jones, even when she gave you a shot."

"I don't like Doctor Martha Jones," said Ella. "She made my arm hurt."

"She gave you a lollipop afterwards, though," Josh replied. "So she's nice."

"So whoever gives you a lollipop is nice?" asked Charlotte skeptically. "I don't think so."

Her children talked among themselves while River concentrated on the street signs. She'd parked the car in a spot three blocks from the shop, which didn't make navigation difficult. However, if she concentrated too hard on what her kids were saying, she might end up where _they _wanted her to go instead of where _she _wanted them to go.

They finally reached the bookshop, and River let her kids file inside before following them through the shop and into the small back room with a staircase leading to the Ponds' flat.

* * *

It was a sizable flat, with a bathroom, kitchen, small living room, and two bedrooms; the children shared the larger room. The kitchen doubled as a dining room, and the living room was a little cluttered, and it was the home of the Ponds. (River was a Song, but she had chosen to name her adopted children Charlotte, Ella, and Joshua _Pond _because she wanted her parents to be linked to their grandchildren.)

Ella fell onto the couch with an exhausted sigh. Josh followed suit. "I want another cookie," she announced drowsily. "And I'm tired."

"It's getting dark," River remarked gently, entering the living room. "Strax's locking up. Charlotte's in the bedroom, I think, getting ready for bed. If you two get your pajamas on, I'll make some warm milk and we can watch a movie. How does that sound?"

"I'm too _tired _to get into my pajamas," Josh whined. "Can't I just stay in my clothing, Mummy?"

"Sorry, love," said River. "How about I carry you to the bedroom? Would that work?"

"Maybe," Josh conceded reluctantly, reaching his arms up. River picked up her son, his head nuzzling into her shoulder, and carried him to the bedroom. Ella followed.

Charlotte was sitting on her bed and meticulously combing out her long brown hair, already wearing a long white nightgown with red polka dots. When the door opened, she stopped combing and asked River, "Mum, can you get my hair? There's a bit in the back that I can't—"

"Hang on, Charlotte, let me put Josh down and get his pajamas out," River replied, gently depositing the sleepy little boy on the bottom bunk of his and Ella's bunk bed, walking over to the dresser at the front of the room and pulling out a pair of blue-and-white plaid pajamas. She neatly tossed Josh the pajamas (they landed next to him on his bed, and he sat up reluctantly to put them on), pulled out a pair for Ella, tossed Ella the pair (she jumped up and caught them before they could sail over her head), and sat down on Charlotte's bed behind her eldest daughter. "Okay. The bit in the back, you say?"

"Try not to do it too hard?" Charlotte requested.

"Darling, I've got magical space hair from the future," River replied. Ella, shedding her jacket, giggled. "I've learned how to comb hair carefully."

"Just checking."

* * *

Josh fell asleep halfway through the movie, sitting on River's lap. Charlotte and Ella were sitting on either side of River, and she could tell that they were dozing off as well, so she turned off the television. "We can finish it tomorrow, okay?" she asked softly, wrapping her arms securely around Josh and standing up. "I think you all need to get to bed."

"Okay, Mummy," Ella mumbled sleepily.

Charlotte stood up and stumbled down the hall to her room. Ella followed suit, and River brought up the rear with Josh in her arms. Sometimes she wished that she'd have someone to carry one more child to bed; she always hated to make Ella walk while Josh was getting carried, and the worst was when they _both _fell asleep and she had to pick which one to wake up. She entered the bedroom and put Josh down in his bed, tucking him in and placing his stuffed horse (the horse's name was ever-changing, but River had a feeling that Josh was going to start calling it Susan soon) before moving on to her daughters. As she gave Charlotte a good-night kiss, Charlotte asked drowsily, "Mum, do you like the Doctor?"

The completely unexpected question took River by surprise, but she managed to come up with a suitable answer. "He seems like a very nice person," she replied, "and I can't wait to get to know him."

* * *

The next day, being a beginning-of-December-Sunday, would have meant snow, but it wasn't cold enough for that. Instead, it rained on Paternoster Row, which meant that almost no one would come into the shop; it was rainy enough to keep customers away, but not so rainy that it was awful to go out in. The kids were antsy and wanted to go out, but River decided that she was going to stay in and give Vastra the day off instead. Vastra declined and gave her day off to Jenny, Jenny declined and gave her day off to Strax, and Strax declared that he wanted to spend _his _day off working in the bookshop, so the whole idea of giving anyone a day off was sort of rendered pointless.

Charlotte curled up in Jenny's desk chair with _Half Magic _and read it loudly to Jenny, who tried to pretend to pay attention while she worked on calculating how much they could spend on ordering new books to sell. Ella and Josh decided to play tag in the bookstore, and ran up and down the shelves screaming loudly. Strax swept the front of the store in the rain, and had to come in every five minutes to wring out his puffy purple jacket, even though River had tried to explain to him that he didn't actually need to sweep the store. Vastra read detective novels. River watched the rain fall on the windows and smiled slightly.

"I can't help but love the rain," she said to Vastra, wandering over to where her friend was sitting on the edge of the window seat with _His Last Bow. _Generally they used that area to display books, but on rainy days, Vastra tended to clear off their displays and curl up with a good Sherlock Holmes."The streets are always less crowded. It's lovely."

"I took Jenny on a picnic in the rain for our first date," Vastra replied with a soft laugh. "We sat under my lace parasol and got completely soaked, but she adored it. She said that I was the first woman that she'd met with such Victorian values."

River's smile faded a little. "All of my first dates are rubbish," she commented ruefully. "When d'you think I'll meet the right man?"

The bell on the shop door rang.

"Hi, sorry, are you open?" came the Doctor's voice, and River turned around, her stomach leaping delightedly in a way it only did when she'd made a good find at one of her digs, or when Charlotte and Ella and Josh all ran up to her and gave her a hug at the same time. She turned red at this realization and smiled brightly at the Doctor to cover it up.

He was quite damp, tiny water droplets covering him from floppy brown hair to no-longer-shiny black shoes, having apparently not yet unpacked his umbrella from the moving boxes River had seen him carrying in. He discarded his soggy tweed jacket, hanging it on the coat rack next to the door. He was wearing _suspenders. _River had to stifle a giggle. He was absolutely adorable—it! It! _It _was absolutely adorable that he wore suspenders!

Ella and Josh stopped their tag game, both of them grinning broadly. To River's surprise, they both ran up to the Doctor and hugged him fiercely with shouts of "Doctor!" and "You came!"

"Course I came, couldn't resist a visit to my neighbors!" the Doctor replied cheerfully. "I've got quite a lot of unpacking to do, so I wanted an excuse to avoid it," he added in a loud, conspiratorial whisper, making Ella and Josh both laugh.

"Doctor, have you ever read _Half Magic?" _Charlotte asked hopefully, finally picking up on the fact that Jenny wasn't really listening.

"Can't say that I have," the Doctor replied. "Is it any good?"

"It's _magnificent,_" Charlotte replied emphatically, jumping up out of Jenny's desk chair (a relieved and exhausted Jenny, who had been standing up with quite a lot of books in her arms, collapsed into the now vacant seat) and running over to the children's reading area to sit down on a pillow over there instead. "I'll read it to you all," she added, patting the pillow next to her. "Mum, will you read with me and the Doctor?"

River looked at her daughter quizzically. She had read _Half Magic _herself; she had been the one to introduce it to Charlotte. But Charlotte smiled hopefully, and River dismissed her theory quickly, walking over and sitting down next to Charlotte on a small pink pillow.

The Doctor sat down on Charlotte's other side, and Charlotte began to read loudly and expressively.

"_It began one day in summer about thirty years ago, and it happened to four children," _she started. River looked over Charlotte's head at the Doctor. The Doctor looked back at River and mouthed something that River couldn't quite understand.

_What? _she mouthed back.

_I've. Read. This. Before, _the Doctor mouthed again, this time slightly more clearly. _Sorry. I. Lied._

River snorted.

"_Mum,_" said Charlotte reprovingly, "we haven't even gotten to the funny bit yet!"

River bit her lip to keep from laughing and looked away from the Doctor, resigning herself to the rest of _Half Magic—_

The Doctor shivered.

"Hang on, love," said River. "Let me go and get the Doctor a towel. He's a _complete _idiot for walking over in the rain like this," she added, glaring gently at him. "He'll catch cold."

The Doctor looked down guiltily at his hands. "I know," he muttered sheepishly. "I was just _bored._"

"If you get sick, it's your own fault," River chided, standing up. She hurried to the back room, up the staircase, and into her bedroom, where she collapsed on her bed and smiled goofily. She really did like him, and she was kidding herself if she attempted to call the butterflies in her stomach platonic. She hadn't had a crush in quite a while, but this one was a very bad idea, especially since she'd be leaving for two years, and she didn't want any sort of long-distance relationship, and…she was overthinking things again. She collected herself, got the fluffiest, largest towel she could find (hers, coincidentally), and hurried back downstairs.

* * *

Charlotte read five chapters, during which River had to call a few more interruptions. The first was to break up an altercation between Josh and Ella, the second was to help a drenched customer find a book for a friend, and the third and final hiatus was for River to serve lunch.

"We'll read more after lunch," she told Charlotte, who had mentioned in the middle of a sentence that she was rather hungry.

"Can the Doctor stay and have lunch with us?" Charlotte asked hopefully. "He still hasn't heard all of the book yet."

River looked at the Doctor. "If you'd like to, sweetie, you can," she told him, not sure where the endearment came from. The Doctor gave her a surprised smile, and she decided that the moniker fit him. _Sweetie. _Well, he sort of _was _one.

"I'd love to," the Doctor replied, his hands in his pockets. He was shivering considerably less now. "Do you have fish fingers and custard?"

"…what?"

"Fish fingers and custard," the Doctor replied. "They taste really good together. If you don't, I'll run over to my house and get them so that you can try it."

Charlotte was grinning broadly. "We've got them," she replied, "but shouldn't you have fish fingers first, and then custard?"

"Ah, you see, that's where people make the mistake," the Doctor told Charlotte, gently pressing on her nose to emphasize his point. "Dessert and lunch are always best when you have them at the same time. Shall you allow me to enlighten your daughter, Doctor River Song?"

"I shall," River replied, and it very accidentally came out as slightly flirtatious. However, the adorable surprise on his face made her decide that her next flirtation wouldn't be an accident, if only to see that expression again. "I'll go get Ella and Josh, and we can have lunch up in the flat."

"Oh, you live on the _second floor!_" said the Doctor delightedly. "Oh, that's _brilliant! _I live on the second floor too; I just saw you as, you know, having a really pretty little cottage with a library and a garden and things."

"We have flats all over the world," River told him. "Small houses cost less to maintain. And I've never been one for staying put."

"I know what you mean," said the Doctor with a small smile. "If I had enough money, I'd travel all around the world. I used to, you know, but then I had to think more _economically _and things."

"Ugh, I hate that word," said River with a little groan. "Only reason I get to travel around is because I'm sponsored. But I still have to pay for Charlotte, Josh, and Ella—"

"Mum?" said Charlotte tentatively. "I'm still hungry."

"Oh, love, I'm sorry!" River gasped. "Let's go upstairs and get you some lunch. Ella, Josh! Time for lunch!" she added, standing up. "Charlotte, can you put the book back on the shelf?" Charlotte nodded, hurrying away to fetch Josh and Ella (as well as put the book back on the shelf), and River turned to the Doctor. "It was very nice of you to drop by," she told him.

"I wish I owned a bookshop," the Doctor said jealously. "D'you read with the kids all the time?"

"All the time," River replied with a little smile. "I always make sure we have _Half Magic _in stock. Charlotte loves that book."

"I might have to come over and visit _you _sometimes," he said. "Maybe you could read to me too; I'm a bit of a kid."

"I don't doubt it, sweetie," said River with a light laugh. "It's endearing." There we go, flirting, and not even accidentally. She felt proud of herself.

The Doctor blushed slightly. It was sort of satisfying, making a man who was probably five years older than her blush. But he had a baby face, so it was hard to tell. She took his hand in hers lightly (apparently her hand was _not _listening to her brain, which was telling it firmly that flirting with a man she would have to leave in two months was _not _a wise idea) and led him upstairs, trying very hard not to notice how soft and warm his hand was.

* * *

**Reviews?**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	3. In Which The Doctor Is Here To Help

**So there's this huge rainstorm going on as I add this author's note, and due to it, my school's been canceled. I know I shouldn't be happy, but I'm over the moon. I love rain.**

**...I know that has nothing to do whatsoever with the story. I hope you like this chapter. **

* * *

"I _love _your kitchen," said the Doctor with absolute worship in his eyes, gazing around at the dark blue walls painted with glow-in-the-dark stars. "It's like…cooking with the cosmos."

River laughed. "I think you just made up a new reality television show, sweetie."

"I might have, a bit, yeah," the Doctor replied with a grin. "So are you going to make me fish fingers and custard, or should I just walk home desolately in the rain?"

"Mmm, I'd say that you should go for the 'walk home desolately' bit. I'd _love _to see that."

The Doctor grinned. "I'll have you know that I do a _great _desolate walk."

The sound of her children's voices carried up the stairs to River's ears. It became evident that Charlotte was arguing with Josh about something or other and Ella was singing a song of her own composition at the top of her lungs.

"Little angels, aren't they?" River laughed ruefully. "You lot, knock it off!" she added loudly to Charlotte and Josh as they entered the kitchen.

"But he—"

"She said—"

"_And the dolly ate the cookie but she fell out the window and—" _Ella warbled.

River clapped her hands together and shouted, "First person to speak out of turn doesn't get any fish fingers and custard with the Doctor!" Suddenly, the kitchen was miraculously silent. "_Thank _you," she said in relief. "Now, Ella, love, can you show the Doctor where we keep the custard? _Quietly,_" she added hastily as Ella opened her mouth to begin her tragic ballad anew. "Charlotte, what happened?"

"He stepped on my foot," said Charlotte haughtily, "so I called him a giant wasp from outer space."

"There actually _is _a giant wasp from outer space, you know," commented the Doctor from where he was being directed to the custard. "His name was Christopher. And his son indirectly contributed to the ten-day disappearance of Agatha Christie, but that's a different story."

River had to grit her teeth to keep from laughing. "Charlotte," she said gently to her daughter, "that's not a very nice thing to say. Did Josh _mean _to step on your foot?"

"No," Charlotte mumbled guiltily.

"Can you apologize to him for calling him a giant wasp from outer space?"

"The correct term for it is a Vespiform, actually," the Doctor added. River gave him a look. "Sorry," he said sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, Josh," Charlotte muttered reluctantly.

"Good on you," said River cheerfully. "Anyone up for some custard?"

* * *

To River's surprise, the Doctor's concoction actually tasted very good, and it prompted Charlotte and Josh to make peace while dipping their fish fingers. As the kids ate and chatted, so did River and the Doctor.

"A Vespiform?" River asked.

"I have a combination of too much spare time, a big imagination, and a nice laptop to research things," the Doctor replied with a custard mustache. "I've made up _lots _of imaginary aliens. I might write a novel."

"Oh my god, I've been looking for you all my life," River laughed. "I tell my kids bedtime stories about imaginary aliens."

The Doctor grinned. "Brilliant! Have you heard of the Daleks?"

"Nope. Have you heard of the Weeping Angels?"

"Nope. Rubbish name, though. Very unimaginative."

"Oi, _Daleks _aren't much better!" River scoffed, leaning forward and dabbing at his custard mustache with her napkin.

"Daleks are absolutely deadly," the Doctor informed her petulantly. "What can your idiotic Weeping Angels do?"

"Send you back in time and live off the time energy of the days that you never lived," said River smugly. "I don't tend to tell my kids about _them. _I stick to Sontarans."

"Sontarans? Aren't Sontarans already licensed? There's that role-play game online, right?"

"Strax is a Sontaran, so it makes sense for me to tell stories about Sontarans."

"Strax? Who—oh, you mean that bloke who was sweeping the front of the store in the rain? The one with the shaved head?"

"Yeah, that's Strax," said River. "Stephen Flint. Don't call him that, though, or he'll get out his three-fingered gloves so that his hands don't get hurt when he punches you; he spends most of his days off playing his game online."

"Is that a thing with Sontarans too? Three-fingered gloves?"

"No, they were a gift from Charlotte, and she doesn't know how to make five-fingered gloves yet," River replied in a low whisper.

The Doctor grinned. "I can't knit either," he confessed. "I ended up almost stabbing myself with the knitting needles when Clara tried to teach me."

"Clara?" asked River, an unpleasant lurch in her stomach. _A girlfriend? A lover? A fiancée?_

"Yeah, she's my sister."

_Oh. You're an idiot, River._ "She can knit?"

"She knitted me a bowtie," said the Doctor with a little frown. "It's itchy, and she always makes me wear it come Christmas."

"Poor baby," River teased gently. "I'd love to see you in a knitted bowtie."

"Oh, _don't,_" the Doctor groaned. "If you asked me to wear it, I would, but I'd complain. Loudly. And dramatically."

"_Really?_ You didn't strike me as the dramatic type."

"It—you—shut up," the Doctor finally conceded petulantly. River laughed and leaned forward to dip her fish finger.

She was beginning to realize that what she thought was an irrational attraction was actually quite rational after all. In all of her life, she had never met someone as like-minded as her, and yet he was kinder in ways that she hadn't ever considered. Their conversations about nothing felt like she was opening her soul to him, and somehow she knew that he wouldn't judge her.

Her father had told her that it was rare to meet people like that. People where you instantaneously clicked, no matter what sort of situation you first met in, and no matter how much or how little you saw each other. There was a spark there, and River had decided that she might want to ignite it. _Might. _

(There was the whole leaving-for-two-years thing, but she found it highly unlikely that she'd fall in love in two months. Love took _years _to grow and blossom. Right?)

* * *

When the rain died down, and when the Ponds and the Doctor had finished their lunch, the Doctor reluctantly excused himself.

"I've got to go work on unpacking my things," he told River as he donned his coat. The children were in the children's area reading more of _Half Magic _to a bored-looking Strax, who was playing Angry Birds on his phone whenever Charlotte wasn't looking. "I've barely gotten started, and I might want to do some redecorating afterward, so it'll be at least six months before I open my toy shop."

"Oh," said River. "Oh, see, we're going to be leaving for one of my digs in two months, actually, so I doubt we'll be back in time to see your shop open."

The Doctor looked surprised, then a little morose, and then he smiled again. "Lucky that we're neighbors, then!" he said cheerfully. "Four or five months isn't too long to be gone, is it?"

"Two years," said River.

"What?" The smile was completely gone from the Doctor's face.

"My kids and I are leaving for two years."

"Oh. I—oh." The Doctor bit his lip. "Would you like to go out for a coffee sometime?" he asked very fast. "You know, if you're going away for two years…carpe diem and all that?"

River, who had not seen this coming, bit her lip to keep from saying "_Yes!_" automatically, tried to weigh the pros and cons of the situation, realized that the only con was the fact that she was leaving in two months, tried to think of more reasons to support that con, tried some more not to say "_Yes!_"—

"Is that a no, then?" asked the Doctor quietly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"

"It's a yes," said River. "Definitely a yes."

The Doctor gave her a bit of a silly smile. "I didn't hear you say it."

"I said it with my _eyes,_ sweetie," River replied airily, quite impressed at how well she'd managed to salvage her graceful air. "Stop by anytime and take me out for a coffee. I'd be happy to."

"Knowing me," said the Doctor, "my timing would be _horrifying._"

"I'd drop everything for a coffee with you," said River flirtatiously. "Don't worry about your timing." The Doctor looked absolutely stunned. She _felt _absolutely stunned. She wasn't sure why she'd said it, but she had no intention of taking it back.

The Doctor finally finished fiddling with his coat, and he walked out almost dazedly. She smiled like an idiot even after he was gone, immersing herself in _Half Magic _(a grateful Strax managed to escape as River sat down) in an attempt to forget the surprised and besotted look on his face; a look that _she, _River Song, had managed to provoke.

* * *

The day after that was a Monday, and people started coming in despite the rain to pick out Christmas presents for their loved ones. River came downstairs to open the shop and saw an excited Rose Tyler knocking insistently on the window, looking utterly drenched, an engagement ring glittering on her finger.

"I've come to pick out something for my fiancée, and I've got to be quick or he'll notice I'm gone," she explained as River helped her take off her sodden hoodie. Her blonde hair was absolutely soaked. "He's still asleep—you met him, right? He's Donna's brother; I _know _you met Donna. She comes here all the time. Anyway, d'you have any good recommendations?"

"What does he like?" River replied. There was a little happy bubbly feeling in her stomach that morning, one that didn't make sense on a Monday, and her thoughts kept on going back to the Doctor's cheek against her mouth and how she might like to kiss him properly at some point and _live in the present River, _she reprimanded herself, _you need to help Rose find a book._

"Um, sci-fi, I think? I bet he's the sci-fi type. He's got _loads _of that sort of thing in his study. So are there any good sci-fi novels in stock?"

"You're in luck," River informed her cheerfully. "We just got some new ones in on Saturday. Come and have a look." She turned away from Rose, expecting her to follow, but Rose stayed there with a strange expression on your face. "Well, come on, then!" she prompted gently.

"You're smiling," said Rose. "You never do that on a Monday. Mondays are your busiest days, you always tell me how much you hate them—"

"I realize that this is a bit of an interruption," came a voice as the shop door opened, "but I decided that I was going to bring coffee _to _you so that you could work and drink coffee with me at the same time."

Rose turned in surprise, her eyes darting from the Doctor at the door to River's widening smile, and she gasped. "Oh my _God!_" she burst out. "You—you—no _way!_"

River blushed slightly. "Here. D'you want me to wrap this book for you? I've heard it's really good."

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead," Rose replied weakly, her eyes still fixed on the Doctor. "I just—is this _him?_"

"Who?" River asked.

Rose gave her a pointed look. "You know," she whispered through her teeth, "your new boyfriend that you didn't tell me about? 'Cause I know what it looks like when someone fancies someone else."

"Thanks _so _much for getting me coffee, Doctor, I really appreciate it," said River very loudly, hoping quite a lot that she was just imagining the blush she had a feeling was beginning at the bridge of her nose. "Rose, I'll wrap the book for you, free of charge. No problem." She took the coffees from the Doctor and set them down next to the cash register. She had a feeling that Vastra and Jenny (who had come in behind the Doctor under a black umbrella) were staring in amusement.

"You aren't together?" said Rose in genuine surprise. "But I've never seen you so happy before! It's _got _to be him."

River was seriously contemplating locking herself in a closet until she could rescue her dignity. She heard Jenny's hastily stifled giggle.

"River and I aren't together," said the Doctor hastily. "Whether or not we'd like to be—um, that's not really my position to say. I just brought her coffee. That's not a marriage proposal, except on some alien planets that my sister and I made up, where—"

"_All right!_" said River, turning away from Jenny's desk, and she could no longer hope that she wasn't blushing. Her cheeks were unrealistically warm. "Rose, this is the Doctor, he's my new neighbor. Doctor, this is my friend Rose, she's a regular customer, and she's getting something for her fiancée."

The Doctor, to River's utter astonishment, mortification, and (surprisingly) delight, swooped over and air-kissed a stunned Rose on both cheeks. "Lovely to meet you, Rose," he said jovially, grabbing Rose's hand and shaking it enthusiastically. As he talked to Rose, River busied herself with wrapping the sci-fi novel, smiling slightly at the fact that the Doctor was friendly to _everyone _that he met. It was extremely adorable. She loved it.

When Rose had left with her purchase (and one of River's towels kept for rainy days and customers without umbrellas), the Doctor took his coffee from the desk. "Sorry," he said guiltily. "Did I embarrass you?"

"Oh, no, of course not!" River hastened to reply. "No, it was just, you know, Rose's questions."

"Ah, yeah, sorry," said the Doctor. "I mean, I'm sure that it's not exactly very flattering for me to be considered your boyfriend."

"Are you _mad?_" snorted River. "You're more sincere than all of London! I've never met anyone as open and honest as you, sweetie, and it's absolutely wonderful to be around you. I think it's safe to say that I don't mind being mistaken for your girlfriend, especially since I secretly want to snog you senseless."

Of course, she only said it in her head. Outwardly, she said, "Don't sell yourself short, honey," and took her coffee off of Jenny's desk, taking a long sip.

The Doctor took a sip as well. Then he burnt his tongue and made a gagging noise. "It's horrid," he sputtered. "All—_bitter."_

"Have you ever had coffee before?" River asked in amusement.

"Actually, no," the Doctor confessed sheepishly. "I was trying to impress you by drinking a hipster drink. Did it work?"

River's smile suddenly faded at his admission. "I'm leaving in less than two months," she told him.

The Doctor looked up at her and nodded hesitantly.

"For two years."

He nodded again.

"I'm not going to fall in love with you," she told him. "I'm not good with anything long-distance. There isn't going to be anything serious about any of this if we go on any sort of date, sweetie, I hope you know that."

He bit his lip. "I feel like I want to try," he said hesitantly. "I like you. Like, really like you. And your kids, and your store, and I want to be your friend, if you'll let me." He was staring resolutely at his coffee cup. "It's not a proposition, or anything."

"But…it could be, if I let it," said River apprehensively.

"Yeah."

"Do you want me to make you some tea?" she asked, noticing that he was looking at the coffee with distaste. It was actually really cute. "I'll have to teach you to like coffee some other time."

He looked up gratefully. "_That,_" he said, "is much better than any proposition. I'd _love _some tea."

* * *

Charlotte was awake, sitting in her pajamas at the kitchen table and eating some cereal that she'd served herself. She grinned broadly when she saw the Doctor, waving enthusiastically. "Is the shop open?" she asked.

"Oh, Vastra's going to _murder _me," River groaned in realization. "I've barely been doing any work for the last two days. I really can't do much more than serve you the tea, sweetie."

"You call him _sweetie?_" said Charlotte with wide eyes. "_Sweetie?_"

The Doctor grinned. "It's okay," he said cheerfully. "It's not like we're in love or anything."

"How can you not be in love with Mum?" asked Charlotte skeptically. "She's pretty, she's smart, she's nice, and she gives good hugs. You're obviously missing something."

"Charlotte," said River patiently, "I only just met the Doctor on Saturday."

"Yeah, but in Disney, Snow White got married to the Prince once he kissed her awake, and they'd only just met!" Ella pointed out, sticking her head through the open doorway and stepping through. She was wearing a pair of footie pajamas with clouds on them, and her hair was a sort of bed-head cloud itself.

River winced at Ella's messy curls. "Love, you need to get the comb and let Charlotte do your hair, okay? I'd do it, but I've got to get back to work soon." Ella pulled a face and stomped away. Combing her hair was not exactly her favorite activity.

"Doctor!" cried Josh joyously, running into the room in his pajamas. He was holding his stuffed horse by one leg, and it kept on hitting things that he just narrowly missed colliding with. "You want to meet Susan?" he asked hopefully, waving the horse around excitedly.

"I'd love to," the Doctor replied eagerly. "Susan, as in the horse I told you about?"

"Mm hmm," Josh replied. "Why're you here so early?"

"He was—" River began, but the Doctor interrupted her.

"I came over to help your mum with the bookshop," he said. "Brought her a coffee and everything. It's really boring work, unpacking, and so I decided to drop by and see if she wanted any help with the bookshop."

"If you want," River suggested, "the kids and I can come over after we close up and help you unpack."

The Doctor grinned. "I'd _love _that, but I find that your family's presence makes me procrastinate, so I might have to wait a bit and at the very least get all of my things organized before I enlist your help."

"Fair enough," said River, feeling a little rejected but hiding it as best she could. "I'd still like to help you out at some point, though." Josh, who had lost interest in the conversation, wandered out of the room with Susan-The-Horse.

The Doctor's blush faded, and he looked up at her with a surprised and delighted smile. "But you're leaving in two months," he said.

"It's not a proposition," said River pointedly.

"For two years."

"I don't deny it."

"_What?_" shrieked Charlotte, upending her cereal bowl and splashing milk all over the table as she stood up very fast.

"Oh no," River whispered weakly.

"Oh god, you didn't tell—oh, I am _so _sorry," said the Doctor in absolute mortification.

But to the Doctor and River's surprise, Charlotte _squealed _in excitement, bouncing up and down on the kitchen floor in milk-sodden glee. "Two years abroad!" she sang. "Where are we going? Are we going around the world? Are we going to go to America? Are we going to go to France? Are we—"

"You're not upset?" said River in shock. "We'll be leaving the bookshop, love—"

"But we're _coming back, _aren't we?" said Charlotte as if it were obvious. "I can't wait to tell Ella and Josh!" She raced off down the hallway, leaving a mess of milk and cereal as well as a stunned but relieved River.

"And I was _so _worried about breaking the news," said River with an amused smile at the Doctor.

"Sorry," the Doctor mumbled.

"It's fine, it really is!" River hastened to reply. "It's okay! I don't know when I would have told them otherwise; I'm always very nervous about what they'll think, and this is going to be the longest time that we've been abroad, so…"

The Doctor looked considerably relieved. "I always do things like that," he said to his coffee cup, the liquid in it now looking considerably cold and revolting. "I didn't _mean _to."

"I know you didn't," River said in amusement. "But you might need to tread more lightly next time."

"Yeah. Sorry."

"That's the third time you've apologized, sweetie, and it really is fine."

"Are you sure?"

River laughed. "If you _really _want to make up for it," she said, "you can clean up Charlotte's mess. I've got to go down and work—"

"Could I look after the kids?" asked the Doctor very fast, the same way he'd asked her out on a coffee date.

"Sorry?" said River.

"Could I look after the kids?" said the Doctor a bit more slowly, sounding a little nervous. "I mean—I'd like to get to know them, and—and they're adorable…" He trailed off, fiddling with his hands. "I know it's ridiculous, but—"

"I feel like I'd be taking advantage of your good nature," River replied.

"I'd _like _to," the Doctor told her earnestly, finally looking up from his coffee cup, and River was disarmed by the sincerity of his words. "I love kids."

"I can tell," she said. "You're great with them. But I'm going to be working for at least four hours, sweetie."

"Don't worry about me," said the Doctor cheerfully. "I'm here to help. You know, I could use one of those nametags, THE DOCTOR: HERE TO HELP. In case I forget who I am, which happens a lot."

River laughed again. "I'm going to go downstairs and try not to feel guilty about making you babysit for me," she told him. "The kids normally just hang about the shop, so it'll be nice for them to have a change. They'll show you where everything is if you need help, and just so you know, if you turn out to be some sort of serial killer, I will kill _you, _and I can hear everything loud that happens upstairs, and I'm being much too paranoid but that's a mum's job."

She smiled warmly at the Doctor, stood up, and headed downstairs, with surprisingly few qualms about leaving her children alone with a man she'd known for all of two days. Considering that she was generally not that much of a trusting person, that said a lot about the way the Doctor was; either very charismatic or actually very amazing.

She was probably going to bet on the latter.

* * *

**Reviews?**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	4. In Which The Doctor Is At Fault

**It took me a ridiculously long time to get this chapter up-I think it was a combination of winter procrastination and a smidge of writer's block. I hope it's worth the wait.**

* * *

River couldn't help but worry about the Doctor and the kids the entire day. She could hear shrieks of laughter sometimes from upstairs, and the sound of thudding footsteps, but it didn't stop her from wanting to run upstairs and check on them.

_You're__ being awfully risky, River, _her conscience chided. _No good mum would leave their kids alone with a man that they'd known for all of two days._

_I _like _him, _she argued back at her conscience. _He's sweet, and honest, and he listens to me, and he plays with my kids. I trust him, even if I don't completely know him yet. _

"You okay?" another regular customer asked her worriedly. River managed a nod, gift-wrapping the children's book and handing it across the counter.

Finally, about two hours after she'd left the Doctor with her kids, he came downstairs with Charlotte behind him and a worried expression.

"Um, Rivah?" he said apprehensively, walking over to the side of her desk, and she found that her stomach did a funny little flip-flop at the way he said her name. "Your microwave may have spontaneously combusted."

"Spontaneously?" River repeated.

"As in we put a can of soda in and the entire thing exploded," the Doctor elaborated.

"I don't think—"

"Or, okay, maybe seven cans of soda."

River looked at the Doctor, then at the regular customer (Martha Jones, whose mouth was twitching as if she were trying not to laugh), then at a guilty Charlotte, who was hovering apprehensively near the door to the storage room and staircase, as if planning for a quick escape. "Who's in charge here, you or Charlotte?" she asked, crossing her arms. "Don't you have more _sense _than to go and do things like that?"

"Would it help my case if I mentioned that it was in the name of scientific curiosity?" asked the Doctor sheepishly.

"Not in the slightest," said River. "Charlotte, did Ella and Josh contribute to the combustion?"

"Um," said Charlotte, wringing her hands, "Ella's still crying 'cause she doesn't want to leave the bookshop, and Josh is in the bedroom playing with Susan."

River groaned. "So it was just you and the idiot?"

"Oi!" said the Doctor indignantly.

"Sweetie, you just blew up my microwave," said River shortly. "I feel like I get a few good insults in. Charlotte, stay down here with me. We'll discuss your punishment later. Doctor, don't touch _anything _in the kitchen, and I want you to go and get my twins so I can talk to Ella, because it's your fault that she's upset in the first place!" Her voice had suddenly grown in volume, so that she was almost shouting at the Doctor.

"_My _fault?" the Doctor sputtered. "_You're _the one who decided to go to…to wherever you plan on going for two years! And I naturally assumed that your kids knew; you didn't seem like the sort who would be deceitful!"

"Don't you dare call me deceitful!" River shouted angrily, standing up and nearly knocking Jenny's chair down. "Don't you dare! You have _no right!_"

"You're the one blaming me!"

"_You blew up my microwave!_"

They glared at each other angrily until Martha coughed nervously and handed River a few wadded-up bills. "Thanks," she said weakly. "Um, I'll leave you and your boyfriend be…?"

"She is _not _my girlfriend," said the Doctor emphatically.

"Not ever," River added loudly as Martha exited the shop.

"Am I being punished?" Charlotte asked timidly.

"We'll discuss this _later,_" said River, more to the Doctor than to Charlotte. "Doctor, go get my kids, and I _swear _that if you break something else, I will break _you._"

"I'm not scared of you," scoffed the Doctor.

"_Go,_" said River, holding up the nearest item threateningly (it happened to be Strax's tape dispenser, but she could probably at least concuss him with it; it was one of the heavy-duty rectangular ones that Strax used to repair broken secondhand books) and glaring at him. He stomped away petulantly. She seethed, opening and closing the cash register drawer with unnecessary force, until the Doctor came back down with Ella (who was sniffling loudly) and Josh (who was holding Susan-The-Horse in his arms) following.

"He didn't break anything," Josh commented, "besides the microwave. There was a big bang."

"Very nearly rewrote the universe," the Doctor joked hopefully, glancing up at River, and her mouth betrayed her by quirking up in the slightest of smiles. His entire demeanor relaxed. This was a mistake, as it only served to aggravate River even more.

"Fix it," she told him, sitting down stubbornly in Jenny's chair.

"What?" said the Doctor weakly.

"Fix. It." River crossed her arms and glared angrily at him. "Fix my microwave."

"And _how _am I supposed to do that?"

"You're the one who blew it up, so fix it!" River turned the chair away from a sputtering Doctor. "Ella?" she said quietly.

"IdonwannagodonmakemeleaveIwanna_staaaay!_" Ella wailed almost incoherently, launching herself into River's arms and burying her face in her mother's shoulder. River rocked Ella in her arms and glared at the Doctor. He glared back.

"Shh, shh, love, it's okay, shh, we'll talk about it soon, we're not going to go if you really don't want to—"

"We aren't gonna see Gran and Gramps for _two years,_" Ella sobbed into River's shoulder. "What if they get lonely?"

"Hey, we can always Skype them, right? And write them letters? And I bet, if you asked _really _nicely, they'd send you cookies, hmm?" River kissed Ella's head.

"You promise that we would get cookies from Gran?" Ella sniffled, looking up.

"I promise."

"And we'd come back in two years?"

"Pinky swear," River agreed soberly.

Ella sniffled, rubbing her eyes. "Okay," she mumbled. "Okay, but I'm still not _completely _good with leaving Strax in charge."

"I shall have you know that I am capable of sufficiently operating a bookstore!" Strax said emphatically, turning to glower at Ella and knocking over a few boxes of books as he did so.

"It's okay," said River soothingly. "Vastra's second in command, remember?"

"I'm still going to miss being here," said Ella, but River could see she was caving. She rubbed her eyes, removing one of her hands from where it had been tightly gripping her mother's jacket. "I don't want to miss any of the books that come in while we're gone."

"We're going to see lots of exciting things, though," River told her daughter gently. "The first place we're going is Cairo, and then we're going to travel up into the Middle East, and then we might even head towards India! The trip hasn't really been fully planned yet. It's going to be _marvelous._"

"I'm not sure," Ella said softly, "but I guess we can go, as long as it's two years, and then we go home for a _long _time."

River bit her lip. "Let's see how you feel about that at the end of the two years, okay?" she asked tentatively, and she was quite relieved when Ella nodded. "Come here, all of you," she added to Charlotte and Josh, and her kids both gave her little grins before coming over and joining the family hug. "My little Ponds," she said proudly. "I love you."

"Love you," Ella echoed.

"I love you all," Charlotte added.

"Susan too?" Josh asked hopefully.

River pretended to think before answering, "_Yes,_ Susan too, Josh." Josh gave her an enormous grin in response, and she gave the toy horse an exaggeratedly loud kiss on its nose. "I love you, Susan!" she proclaimed dramatically, and then, "Charlotte, no Kindle Fire for a week."

"I live in a _bookstore,_" Charlotte pointed out.

"Thank you, love, I'd forgotten. No Kindle Fire, and you're not to touch any of the books that aren't yours—unless you're planning on buying them—for a week as well." River smirked at the pout on Charlotte's face before looking up to somehow reprimand the Doctor, something witty like "_And just because you aren't one of my kids doesn't mean I can't prohibit some of your privileges as well, honey,_" but the shop door was already swinging shut. She huffed softly and rolled her eyes. It was _his _fault, anyway, and he had no right to storm off in a sulk.

* * *

On Tuesday, River did her shop work, but she kept on looking out the window and across the street to see if she could catch a glimpse of the Doctor. She didn't. He seemed to still be resentful about her anger towards him, which she found absolutely ridiculous; _he'd _been the one who had blown up her microwave, after all.

But whenever the door opened, which was often, she'd find herself hoping for the Doctor to come in with an apology and a funny anecdote. The apology first, of course, because _she _was very obviously in the right, and it shouldn't take him too long to figure that out.

* * *

On Wednesday, River tried to make frozen dinners for Charlotte and Josh and Ella, and then she realized that she didn't have a microwave anymore. She ordered pizza instead; Charlotte, Josh and Ella all didn't seem to mind, but she did, going into her bedroom (one of the only rooms in their flat with a window facing the street) and giving the Doctor's building glowering looks. She couldn't see anyone at the window, which was probably good, because she was making a complete idiot of herself.

She kicked the bed and stubbed her toe.

* * *

On Thursday, River had lost patience with the Doctor, and wasn't at all expecting him to show up in the middle of the day and the beginning of December's first snowfall. To be fair, she didn't actually realize it was him who knocked on the door of the store, and so her response was slightly more cordial than she'd planned. "It's open," she called from where she was filing some books that a careless young woman had left cluttering up the floor in the children's reading area. The knock came again. River frowned slightly; she hadn't thought that the mechanics of a door would be too hard to understand. "It's open," she called again.

Another knock, this time more persistent. It sort of sounded like someone's elbow hitting the door instead of their knuckles. River assumed that it was a delivery man. "Oh, for the—Charlotte, would you go get the door?" River called across the store. Charlotte, who had been staring longingly at a brand-new copy of _Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, _was jerked reluctantly out of her reverie and shuffled over to get the door.

The Doctor, wearing a long, multicolored scarf, entered hastily, a large and elaborately gift-wrapped package in his arms, running over to Jenny's desk and placing it carefully down near the cash register. Jenny gave him a surprised look and decided to give him a wide berth; she got out of her desk and wandered over to help out Vastra. The five customers they had in the store were all staring at the Doctor. "That thing is _heavy!_" he gasped. "Seriously, I think they're making microwaves more heavy-duty now."

River suddenly realized what was in the package and ungracefully dropped one of the books she'd been shelving on her foot.

"You got us a new microwave?" said Charlotte in astonishment.

"Yep!" the Doctor replied proudly. "Shopped for it all of Tuesday with my sister. Had to borrow some money, but, you know, I sort of shouldn't have blown up your old one in the first place. I spent yesterday trying to pick out wrapping paper for it, and then I sort of taped my hands together for about two hours."

River, who had been carefully planning her firm and aloof demeanor when the Doctor showed up, snorted and walked over to the Doctor and Charlotte. "You're still not quite forgiven," she told him, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

The Doctor grinned broadly. "It's a start, though, isn't it? Look, d'you like the wrapping? I picked it special for you; it's gold. Like—" The Doctor's eyes darted to a stray curl that was brushing River's cheek. "Like pretty things," he finished lamely, and River had to smile reluctantly.

"_Fine,_" she conceded. "I'll take your microwave, but I'm not letting you in my kitchen. _Ever._ Unless I'm there."

"I'm flattered," said the Doctor with an eye roll. "_And _I'm sorry," he mumbled grudgingly. "But let it be known that Clara forced me into saying that. I have an irritating do-gooder of a sister. Sisters tend to be irritating do-gooders, right?"

"_I'm _a sister," Charlotte huffed.

"Well, then, you and Ella must be the exceptions to the rule," the Doctor replied cheerfully. "What about you, River? You a sister?"

"Only child," said River shortly.

"Are you still mad?" the Doctor asked guiltily.

"You're irritating, you're immature, and you nearly blew up half my kitchen," said River, "but you are absolutely _impossible _to stay mad at. Consider yourself lucky."

"That—you—you never let _anyone _off that easy!" Charlotte protested indignantly. "You're just forgiving him? Just like that?"

River smirked. "Sucker for a man in a bow tie," she teased the Doctor. "Thank you for the microwave, sweetie," she added gently, walking over so that she was standing next to him and taking his left hand in hers. The Doctor looked up at her with a shy smile that made her blush (thankfully, he didn't seem to notice) and smile back.

"It's snowing," the Doctor commented.

"Yes, it is," River replied. "You've got snow in your hair."

"It was unbelievably cold out there," said the Doctor sulkily.

"I can knit you a hat!" chirped Charlotte. "I know how! And on Saturday, we're making you special cookies, so what kind would you like?"

The Doctor grinned broadly. "Can you make jammie dodgers?"

Charlotte's smile faded, and she hurried over to River and tugged on her sleeve. "Mum," she hissed, completely unaware that the Doctor could clearly hear her, "can you and Gran make the jammie dodgers? Ella and Josh and I don't know how."

"Sure," River whispered. "We can do it for you. You can just help with the decorating."

"Okay," Charlotte whispered back, and looked up at the Doctor. "We're going to make you the _best _jammie dodgers ever," she informed him proudly. "You're going to _love _them."

"I don't doubt it," the Doctor replied, glancing amusedly at River over Charlotte's head. River stifled a laugh. "Now, d'you mind if I stay in here? I really did do quite a lot of unpacking yesterday along with wrapping your new microwave, so I don't have that much to do over at my shop. Ooh, you know what I'd like to do?"

"Um, excuse me?" said a young man hesitantly. "Can I buy this?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" River gasped. "Hang on, sweetie, I need to get back to work, and we can talk some more after I close up shop, okay?" She turned to the man, turned back, and told him, "You can watch over the kids down here, where I can keep an eye on you, but if you break it, you buy it." The Doctor nodded sheepishly and took Charlotte's hand, leading her over to the kids' section, where Ella and Josh were playing with Susan-The-Horse as well as Ella's doll, which didn't usually have a name or a face, depending on Ella's mood.

* * *

Time seemed to drag on as River worked, and although she could look over and check on the Doctor any time, she really did want to sit down and have a nice chat with him instead of watch him play with her kids. Which, by the way, he was absolutely _wonderful _at, because he was completely unafraid to act silly around them. He had a knack for children that most men didn't possess, and she would know, because she'd tried to find one who had the exact qualities of the Doctor.

_That,_ however, was a long time ago, when she'd been optimistic and romantic and silly, and when she'd decided to pursue archaeology instead, she'd decided that romance wasn't really something that she was interested in. She did adore children, though, and she'd adopted Charlotte during an interim break from a dig. Ella and Josh had been more of an accident; they were living in an orphanage in France, and no one wanted to adopt twins, so she had.

Finally, after what might have been either an eternity or thirty minutes, Vastra informed River quietly that their regular hours were over, and she and Jenny left while River put up the CLOSED sign and let the last customers file out. Then she went straight over to where the Doctor was playing with her children and sat down next to Ella. Strax drew the curtains and turned on the light before leaving River, her kids, and the Doctor alone in _Paternoster Books_.

"Hey," she said with a grin. "So what have I missed?"

"Susan got eaten by an extraterrestrial," said the Doctor quite seriously, and then, "Twice."

"But he's okay now, 'cause the Doctor fixed him," Josh added.

River gave the Doctor a warm smile. "Well, that's certainly lucky," she said.

"Can I read—" began Charlotte, her hand halfway to the bookshelf, but River said shortly, "Punishment, remember?" and her daughter's face fell.

"You know," said the Doctor conversationally, "I could always tell you a story if you wanted. I know loads of good stories."

"I'd love a story," River found herself saying unexpectedly, and found that it also had a flirtatious undertone to it that her children (thankfully) didn't seem to pick up on. The Doctor, judging by the color of his face, _did _seem to pick up on it.

"Okay," said the Doctor. "Um, I'm not sure if I'm going to tell this right, but I was on my spaceship, which is also a time machine—"

"You have a _spaceship?_" gasped Charlotte. "And it's a _time machine_?"

"Hush, no questions until I'm done," the Doctor said with a playful frown. "Anyway, I was on my spaceship, with my good friend and sister Clara Oswald, and we decided to stop in a museum. It was the biggest museum ever, and there were a whole lot of mistakes, so of course I had to point them out. But _then _I noticed that there was a home box on display. Someone had written, in a secret code that I thought was only known to me, a message that I knew had to be for me."

"Hang on, what's a home box?" Josh asked.

"Like a black box on a plane, except it homes," the Doctor explained. "Anything happens to the ship, the home box flies home with all the flight data. So we plugged in the home box, and you'll never guess who'd sent me the message."

"Who?" asked Ella, who now seemed interested.

"Um—" said the Doctor, who plainly hadn't figured that bit out yet.

"Me," said River, before she could stop herself. "I was sending him a message."

"What was the message?" Josh asked eagerly.

The Doctor half-glanced at River, who gave him a playful grin. He grinned back. "_Hello, Sweetie,_" he replied. "So I borrowed the box from the museum—"

"They just let you borrow it?" Ella said skeptically.

"_Fine, _I sort of stole it, which is something that you shouldn't really do, but I really wanted to know who knew my secret code. So Clara and I flew off in our spaceship/time machine with the home box, and we plugged it in, and your mum was on the security camera."

"Wearing high heels," River added. "The really tall red ones, remember them, Charlotte? I was at a party, and—"

"—she was investigating—"

"Who was at the party, Doctor, you or me?" River teased, and she saw that her children were all smiling broadly.

They spun a fanciful tale of how River had jumped out of a spaceship into the Doctor's arms (this was an addendum of River's tacked on at the last moment) because she was about to be caught investigating a monster on the spaceship and she had had to make a quick exit. Then River said that she was able to fly the Doctor's spaceship better than him, and the Doctor huffed and attempted to contradict her, and the story petered out in a good-natured argument and a lot of giggles from Charlotte and Ella. Josh observed the proceedings with an amused smile, Susan-The-Horse in his lap.

* * *

**As always, reviews are appreciated.**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	5. In Which River Is Catered To

River woke up on Friday and took an early morning shower, singing songs from _Chicago _and doing little dances in the puddles of water on the tiled floor, even though she didn't have much room to do it; her flat's bathroom had quite a small shower. She was in an absolutely wonderful mood, and there was nothing to justify it.

"_I'm gonna rouge my knees and wear my stockings down," _she belted in an atrocious imitation of an American accent. _"And all that jazz!" _She twirled, very nearly falling down, and laughed deliriously.

"Mum?" she heard Charlotte call worriedly. "Mum, are you all right?"

"I'm _lovely, _Charlotte!" River cried happily over the sound of the water. "_Wonderful!_"

"Have you gone _mad?_" Ella demanded angrily, her voice still thick with sleep. "We were _sleeping, _Mummy!"

"I was already mad, Ella, love!" River sang out. Oh, dear lord, she was so happy that it was nauseating even to her. "Go watch cartoons, then," she added loudly. "Not Charlotte, she's grounded. Send her downstairs. Strax should be down there, he gets here _insanely _early. Love you!"

"She's gone mad," River heard Ella mumble, and then the sound of footsteps walking away from the bathroom. River twirled again, and this time she _did _fall down, slipping and falling against the shower wall with a giddy laugh.

On the bathroom counter, her phone rang.

River felt her stomach do a little dance and the involuntary hopeful thought of _Doctor? _came to her, even though she hadn't actually given the Doctor her phone number. She scrambled out of the shower, still dripping wet, and picked up the phone without bothering to put on a towel. "Hello?" she chirped brightly.

"You sound unrealistically perky at this early time of day," said Amy in surprise. "Have I called my daughter, or is this a wrong number?"

"I'm fine!" River said hastily, but the silly smile refused to go away. "Great, fine, brilliant! Fine, fine, great—"

"Melody," said Amy in amusement. "I have _never _heard you that cheerful in your entire life, and I've known you for all of it. Tell me what's making you so horrifyingly cheerful, so that I can replicate it."

River had really been meaning to say that she didn't know. She really had. But instead, what came out was "Fish fingers and custard."

"Sorry?" said Amy, utterly bemused.

"Fish. Fingers. And. Custard. Really insanely good, Mum, you should really try it."

"Are you on drugs?" Amy asked, her voice suddenly guarded and worried.

"I swear I'm not," said River breathlessly. "I think maybe it's a strange form of PMS."

"Or?"

"Or I might fancy someone, which is completely ridiculous, because I've only known him for nearly a week."

"Oh my _god!" _Amy shrieked into the phone. River winced; she felt like Amy's high-pitched shriek might have perforated her eardrum. "Oh my _god, _you _do, _you really, really _do! _Melody, that's the way I was acting with Rory—oh my _god! _Oh my—"

"Stop it, Mum," River mumbled sheepishly, her good mood beginning to dissipate as she began to shiver. She reached for her bathrobe and donned it awkwardly, her ear still pressed to the phone. "I can't fancy him, I'm leaving in less than two months."

"So _maybe _you could _stay,_" said Amy pointedly. "And I want you to bring him around for cookies next Saturday. Not tomorrow—your dad's going to make cookies with us tomorrow—but the Saturday after that."

"Mum, it's not like we're getting married, I barely know him!"

"I guarantee you, Melody, this is the one. We Pond girls may be flirts—"

"Mum, you know I hate it when you call us 'Pond girls'—"

"—but when we get like this over what should be some stupid little crush, it's definitely the real thing. Bring him over, okay, Mels?"

"Mum—"

"Didn't-hear-a-no-to-my-question-hanging-up-now-before-you-can-say-no-love-you-bye!" said Amy in one breath before hanging up. River rolled her eyes good-naturedly, smiling slightly at the thought that clumsy John Oswald might end up being "the one" and heading to her bedroom to dry off and get dressed.

* * *

The Doctor didn't show up that day. She waited—well, she pretended she wasn't waiting, but she got up and casually strolled past the window nine times. She didn't really fool Vastra, but Jenny and Strax just thought that she was getting a bit antsy—for the entire day, and when he didn't show up and they closed up shop at three (a bit early, but the holidays meant that they would be getting a lot of business every day), she decided to go check on him.

Of course, since Vastra and Jenny were going out on a date, and Strax was going home to play more SontarConquerors, she didn't have anyone to watch the kids. Consequently, she bundled them up in hats, coats, and mittens, and took them across the street.

"It's just across the _street, _Mum," said Charlotte with an eye roll. "It's not like we're going to die of hypothermia, and _you're _not wearing a jacket."

"Charlotte, you're still grounded," River reminded her daughter with a warning in her voice, "and I have a high cold tolerance." The actual reason was that she hadn't been able to drive down to the Laundromat and wash her jackets, but she figured that withholding that bit of information might be to her advantage. It didn't really set a very good example.

She knocked hesitantly on the door. No answer. She tried again, and this time she waited ten seconds before the door opened.

"Hello!" said the Doctor in surprise and delight. "Wasn't expecting you! To what do I owe the pleasure, Doctor Song?"

"You didn't come today, and Mummy was waiting, so she decided to come to you," Josh explained, and River bit her lip and gave the Doctor an embarrassed grin. "What are you doing?" Josh added.

"Oh, unpacking," said the Doctor cheerfully. "Took me long enough to get started. Come in! It's—hang on, River, where's your jacket?"

"I don't need one," River replied, but she was starting to shiver. Thankfully, it was barely noticeable.

"You're shivering," the Doctor observed. "Come on, I'm going to make you all some hot chocolate in my brand new kitchen. The flat's about as big as yours, so I've got a lot of extra rooms, and I set up the microwave—"

"Without blowing it up?" River scoffed.

"Get in here," said the Doctor worriedly, gently pulling the kids in before taking River's hand in his, pulling her in, and shutting the door. "River—your hand's ice cold!"

"Yes, but I really am fine," River replied. "I'm not a child, honey."

"Come along, Songs—"

"Ponds," Ella corrected. "We're Ponds. Not Songs. Mummy changed her name, but we're all Ponds 'cept for her."

"Then come along, _Ponds,_" the Doctor conceded gracefully, "I'm going to see if I can find a blanket for River. River Pond?" he added in surprise. "Thought you were River Song."

"No," River explained, "my original name was Melody."

"Melody Pond," said the Doctor thoughtfully. Then it seemed to hit him, and he laughed delightedly. "Ah, you're clever!" he said with utter elation, throwing an arm around her, and frowning. "And you're ridiculously cold. As I said, come along Ponds! Let's warm up Mum, hmm?" He took his other hand and closed it around his and Rivers' joined hands, rubbing her hand between both of his in an adorably ineffective way of trying to warm it up. Then he gently pulled River through the empty store, into a back room, and up a flight of stairs, the children following close behind.

* * *

He told her to sit down on the couch and wait while he and the kids made her hot chocolate, carefully tucking a blanket around her. River tried to protest (the purpose of the visit wasn't for him to take care of her; she was a grown woman and could handle a walk across the street in the cold) but he wouldn't hear of it.

So there she was, sitting in a halfway-furnished living room with boxes and random items littering the floor, and feeling more than a little bit ridiculous. She could hear the Doctor and the kids laughing in the kitchen, and it was absolutely _killing _her to just sit there and wait and listen to them having fun without her.

Now she was getting childishly jealous. Delightful.

River exhaled and cuddled into the sofa, suddenly aware of how deliciously warm it was under the quilt the Doctor had given her. She probably _should _have brought a jacket, she realized, and she was actually really quite cozy here. Perhaps getting catered to wouldn't hurt a bit…

Her eyes drifted shut.

* * *

"Hey," said the Doctor, barely audibly. "River? You awake?"

"You and your comfy sofa are making me reluctantly forgive you for blowing up my microwave," River said sleepily, rolling over onto her side so that her face wasn't pressed into the armrest. "I'm such a bloody horrible guest, sweetie, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," said the Doctor with a grin, sitting down gingerly next to her and lifting the quilt so that he could slide in next to her. She sat up with a yawn, rubbing her eyes. "We had loads of fun making the hot chocolate. Feel free to doze off anytime you'd like."

"What, and you didn't blow up a microwave?" River teased.

"Nah, that's only for you," the Doctor replied, putting his arm tentatively around her. She yawned again and snuggled into his side. "Get up too early?"

"Probably," said River. "I think it's your fault."

"Oh, is that it?" gasped the Doctor playfully. "When all else fails, blame the Doctor?"

"Mm," River agreed.

"We've got the hot chocolate!" Charlotte's voice came from the kitchen, and River hastily moved away from the Doctor. She had absolutely no idea how her kids might react to seeing her cuddling with a near-stranger. Ella came in with a tray of crackers, and Charlotte followed with a large pitcher of hot chocolate. "Josh's bringing the marshmallows in," she added, setting the pitcher down on the floor next to a pile of cups; the Doctor must have brought them in when he went to check on her.

"You're all saints," said River sleepily. "I swear, I'm never taking an early morning shower. Ever. Ever again."

"Are you going to always sing in the shower in a funny voice?" Josh asked with completely sincere curiosity as he entered the room, placing the marshmallows on the floor and taking a large handful. "I thought you'd gone mad," he added cheerfully, and River groaned slightly in embarrassment.

"I'd have loved to have heard _that,_" said the Doctor with a wide grin. River, suddenly feeling a bit more awake, picked up a cracker and hit him with it so that he wouldn't notice her blush.

Charlotte, meanwhile, was busying herself with pouring everyone hot chocolate. As she finished up Josh's cup, she looked up and asked the Doctor, "After we all finish drinking, d'you want us to help you unpack? Your kitchen's a mess, and Mum's really good at organizing kitchens."

"Charlotte!" River reprimanded gently, but the Doctor laughed.

"It's fine!" he said cheerfully. "I'd _love _some help with my kitchen. I'm sort of rubbish at organizing."

"Excellent," said River. "Let's just finish this hot chocolate, then, and get to it."

"Marshmallow fight!" shouted the Doctor unexpectedly, sliding off of the couch, taking a handful of marshmallows, and pelting a shocked Ella, who shrieked, giggled, and threw them back at him.

"You can't—" River began.

"My house, my rules," said the Doctor smugly.

"You," said River, "are an overgrown twelve-year-old." Then, because she was not going to be outdone (however much she'd have liked to be a dignified, mature adult instead), she got off of the couch, took the entire bowl of marshmallows, and dumped it on the Doctor's head.

There was a very dead silence as the Doctor stared at her with what looked like a small glacier atop his floppy brown hair. Then he plucked a marshmallow off of the top and threw it at River, she dived for the pile of marshmallows that he'd thrown, Charlotte grabbed a handful of marshmallows off of the Doctor's head to throw them at Josh, and an all-out marshmallow war began.

* * *

"I win!" said the Doctor triumphantly.

"You don't automatically win just because we've run out of marshmallows," huffed Ella. "_I _win, obviously."

"You're both idiots, and I win," Josh informed them.

"_Josh,_" scolded River, "don't call people idiots." Her stern look melted off her face. "Of course I win."

They were lying on the floor, marshmallows scattered all over the Doctor's living room. River had marshmallows in her hair, the Doctor had a marshmallow that had somehow managed to affix itself to his bow tie, and Charlotte, Ella, and Josh all had marshmallows stuck on their winter boots.

"Call it a tie?" the Doctor suggested.

"I call it a rematch," River replied. Then, "Actually, I'm too tired for a rematch. You know, I think that we should do some unpacking now."

"If you squish any marshmallows, it's your own fault," the Doctor added, jumping up. Then, to River's surprise, he bent down and offered her a hand. She took it. He pulled her up too fast, and toppled over backward back onto the floor. River, now standing up, blinked at him. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"I appreciate the gesture, honey," said River with a gracious smile, leaning down, taking his hand, and pulling him up.

"I was supposed to be chivalrous," muttered the Doctor sulkily. "It was going to be me being chivalrous and you really liking me being chivalrous."

River squeezed his hand. "You're chivalry enough for me. Right, Ponds! Are we going to help the Doctor unpack now?" The Doctor glanced down at their joined hands, as if expecting her to decide to let go at some point. She didn't, instead choosing to stare at her children instead.

Ella sat up and shook her feet, dislodging a few marshmallows before standing up. "Where are the boxes, Doctor?" she asked politely.

"Oh, um, there are a couple in the kitchen that you could get started on. Just clothing, you know, so if you could just get it out—I feel sort of like I'm taking advantage of your kids, River," said the Doctor guiltily, staring down at his feet.

"It really is fine, sweetie," River replied. "They don't do enough around the house anyway."

"I've got to discuss something with your mum really quick," said the Doctor to the children, sounding rather relieved at River's reassurance. "Just give us a minute?" He watched Ella, Josh and Charlotte leave the room before finally looking up at River. "Um—"

"Yes?" River prompted, her heart thudding so fast that she thought she might have two. _Is he going to ask me out?_

"Well—"

"Yes?"

"See—um—well—"

"Are you going to finish your sentence, or should I just go unpack with my kids?" River asked, still not removing her hand from his.

"No, no, no! Just—um—"

"Yes," said River.

"What?"

"But I'm not free on Saturday," River continued, as the Doctor looked at her with surprise and relief, "so it'll have to be Sunday. You can pick me up at noon; I'll figure out someone to look after my kids. And, honey, next time I'm not bailing you out; you're going to have to ask me yourself."

"Okay," said the Doctor in weak gratification. "That's—how did you know?"

"You're fairly obvious," River replied smugly, standing on her tiptoes to straighten his bow tie with her free hand. "See you on Sunday."

The Doctor's smile turned into a wide grin.

* * *

By the time they'd left, Charlotte had unpacked the Doctor's clothing and put it away in his dresser, Ella had unpacked all of the Doctor's action figures and started playing with the Doctor, and Josh had unpacked the Doctor's books with River, both of them shelving while the Doctor's Evil Ghost Man was defeated by Ella's Super Cool Girl. Ella, of course, had decided on the names.

The Doctor had walked them across the street, insisting that River wear one of his tweed jackets and a large multicolored scarf. She didn't bother putting up a fight; it was actually sort of cute that he cared so much.

"So, um, Sunday?" he said with a grin.

"Sunday," River agreed, unwinding his scarf from around her neck. "I'll try and dress warmly next time."

"You take care of yourself, milady," said the Doctor, taking her hand in his and lightly kissing the knuckles. "I've got plans."

"_Really?"_ River purred.

"Not—not like that—_ugh, _you're impossible," stammered the Doctor, dropping her hand, but there was a smile in his eyes. "I'll see you." He took the scarf from her. "Keep the jacket."

River smiled at him widely, her eyes sparkling. "See you around, sweetie," she whispered, a bubble of joy in her throat; she had never met a man quite like him. Hell, she had never met _anyone _quite like him.

* * *

"You're smiling, Mummy," Josh observed as they ate dinner.

River sighed, her smile fading slightly. "I shouldn't," she said softly. "I really, really shouldn't."

"I _like _it when you smile," said Ella with a wide grin.

"But that _flirting _with the Doctor was disgusting," Charlotte added. "Can you save that for later?"

"Are you two in love?" Josh asked excitedly. "Are you going to get married? Can we rent a horse for the wedding?"

"Can I wear a superhero costume at the wedding?" Ella said with delight. "You only let me wear it on special occasions."

"Slow down!" River laughed, holding her hands up and very nearly stabbing Ella with her fork. "Sorry, love. Look, we're not getting married anytime soon."

"But you _fancy _him," Charlotte pointed out. "You get these big eyes whenever you're near him…not _big _eyes exactly, but mushy eyes. Like he's really cool, which he _is, _but you think he's cool in a different way that we think he's cool. Right?"

"Um," said River, thrown off by her daughter's astute observation, and very quickly took a large sip of water to buy herself some time.

"He'd make a great dad," said Josh thoughtfully. River choked on her water. Not because she was surprised by Josh's approval (well, yes, a bit), but because, although she'd never considered marrying the Doctor (until now), he really _would. _"Mummy, are you okay?"

River smiled through watery eyes and nodded weakly. "Fine," she managed hoarsely.

* * *

She owned a king-size bed.

It was an odd choice, and one that her parents had found a bit strange, seeing as she had had no intention of getting married when she had bought the bed. She'd never been one for the idea of romance, however, simply because her love life couldn't really flourish what with three kids to take care of, but there was always that silly thought that she might find "the one" and she might need space in her flat for him.

River stared at that bed now and imagined the Doctor in it, reading a book on top of the covers, probably wearing a pair of ridiculous pajamas and reading glasses, glancing up at her every so often as if in invitation. Oh, he would fit so _well _into her life.

"Stop it," she said to the empty room. "Stop, that's not _allowed._" She sat down in front of her vanity and stared at herself in the mirror. "You are leaving in less than two months," she said sternly to her reflection. "Falling in love with someone that you've just met is not an option. Oh god." She rubbed her eyes before beginning to comb out her hair for bed.

* * *

That night, she dreamed that she was talking to the Doctor. They were sitting in a grassy field, and the breeze was tousling her hair, and the dream was just her talking to him. Sometimes he'd lean forward and lift her hand to his mouth, kissing the knuckles, but he never seemed to kiss her anywhere else.

When she woke up, it was still dark. Before she rolled back over to go to sleep, it occurred to her that the Doctor's lack of actual snogging in her dream might have to do with the fact that they hadn't kissed in real life before.

"Odd," she said sleepily in the dark, "but unsurprising in how atypical it is." It seemed that even in dreams, the Doctor was clumsily hesitant. This was both disappointing and endearing, and River had to smile to herself at that fact.

* * *

**As always, reviews are appreciated.**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	6. In Which The Doctor (And River) Dance

"And you're going on a _date _with him," Rory said again, almost numbly, picking up his cup of tea only to put it back down and stare at River incredulously. "A _date. _With an actual _person._"

"I didn't ask for your opinion on my love life, Dad, I just felt like you had a right to know," River replied tersely, feeling more than a little guilty at Rory's slightly hurt expression. "And besides, I've gone on plenty of dates before."

"Yes, and as I recall, those dates ended with one-night stands and you never making any actual emotional connection," Rory pointed out. "Do you really think it's wise to go on a date again? You've got _kids._"

River took a sip of tea and swallowed. "The Doctor's not like that."

"A doctor of what, exactly?"

"Dunno. Never asked." She smiled a little bit as the sound of Charlotte's and Ella's eager voices drifted through the open kitchen door, interspersed with jokes and anecdotes from Amy and laughs from Josh as they all baked. She'd opted out of cookie baking this week, instead choosing to spend some time with her father. "He's amazing, Dad."

"Mels," said Rory gently, pushing his tea cup to the side and clasping his daughter's hand over the table, "the way you talk about him, I can _tell _that he's amazing. And I don't want you to turn this into another meaningless fling, because—and forgive me for this, love—you _do _tend to do that sometimes."

River took another sip of tea. "Mmm. You make_ lovely _tea, Dad."

"_Mels,_" Rory said pointedly. "Don't try and avoid the subject."

"I can't make it anything _but _a meaningless fling," said River stubbornly. "I'm leaving on January 30th, remember?"

Rory sighed. "Just—if he really is as wonderful as you say, just don't completely disregard the idea of an actual relationship, okay, Melody?" River looked up in surprise. It was very rare that River's father called her by her real name. Generally it was "Mels" and occasionally "River", but "Melody" was his way of telling her that he was serious. "Melody" was his way of telling her that he wanted her to really think about things.

"I—yes," said River softly, not sure yet whether or not she was lying. She'd lied about these sort of things before. "Yes. I won't disregard it."

Rory gave her a tender half-smile and took a sip of tea.

* * *

"We made him jammie dodgers!" Charlotte said proudly on the drive back home. "And then we packed them up, and Gran made us snickerdoodles, but the jammie dodgers tasted better than the snickerdoodles. Mostly because we made the jammie dodgers. Don't worry, though, we didn't eat all of—"

River, who really couldn't follow Charlotte when her daughter was hyped up on cookies and talking a mile a minute, nodded and smiled and pretended she could understand. Then (and she thanked the stars for it) her phone rang. She took her hand off the steering wheel and reaching for the phone.

"You can't _do _that!" Ella reprimanded. "Not while you're _driving, _Mummy!"

Unsurprisingly, River ignored her, because she didn't recognize the number, and if she was lucky—"Hello?" she said into the phone.

"Hi!" said the Doctor on the other end, sounding absolutely elated. "Got your number from Vastra. I _may _have told her that we were going on a date, completely by accident. Sorry about that. She said that I'm the first person you've gone on a date with since before she can remember. Is that true? Like, seriously true? So I'm special? Because—"

"Is there an actual purpose for this phone call?" River asked in what was supposed to be aloof annoyance but sounded a lot more like fondness to her. "I'm _driving._"

"Yeah, right, sorry! Anyway, I called to tell you that we're going out dancing tomorrow—not to one of those bars, but ballroom dancing, and I was going to surprise you until I realized that you're going to need to dress up, okay? Just letting you know, because I can't wait for tomorrow!" said the Doctor brightly.

"Neither can I," said River with a little smile. "No one's ever taken me _ballroom _dancing before. You might be the first in a while for more than one thing tomorrow, sweetie," she purred into the phone, in a low whisper so that her children wouldn't hear. But what had meant to be an innocent comment (about how he was both her first date in a long time and the first to take her ballroom dancing) came off as…well, as a little bit sexual, and the answering sputter from the Doctor made her smirk slightly and flip off the phone.

He was flustered by her. Bless.

"What's the Doctor going to be the first for?" Josh asked with innocent curiosity, and River groaned softly. Apparently, she hadn't been as quiet as she would have liked.

* * *

Vastra and Jenny had closed up shop by the time River arrived back home, so she had to unlock the door. What she didn't expect was a piece of paper taped to the door of _Paternoster Books_, written in a barely legible scribble that she knew could only be the Doctor's.

_Hi!_

_Missed you today—I had to do more boring unpacking. Yawn. Did you make me cookies? There's a lot of space on this paper, and I don't have anything else to write, so I'm going to draw a giraffe. Giraffes are cool._

_Doctor_

Underneath his writing was a doodle of a giraffe wearing a bow tie. River laughed.

"What is it, Mum—_oh! _Oh my—oh! That is _so _cute!" Charlotte's squeals were reaching an unrealistically high pitch. "He _fancies _you! And you fancy him! And he's nice! Are you getting married? Are you? Are you? Don't say no! I know romance, Mum, and this is it! It's just like Ron and Hermione, except not Ron and Hermione! I bet you anything that Ron and Hermione end up together. I still haven't read the next book yet. Don't tell me. You still need to take away my punishment, just so you know, 'cause I'm _dying_. Are you going to be his girlfriend?"

"I'm cold," Ella said loudly, unaffected by the doodle of the giraffe or the fact that her mother might have a crush on the Doctor. "Can you unlock the door, please, Mummy?"

River nodded hastily, trying not to laugh at her giddy oldest daughter, who was hopping up and down.

* * *

She picked out a sweet Christmas movie for the kids, watched it with them, put them to bed, and then unwisely decided to watch a horror movie. By herself. In a dark room. By the time it was over, River was staring at the television as if she was expecting it to bite her. With a soft groan, she turned on the light and walked to her bedroom.

Changing into her nightie, River realized how scared she was in her small bedroom; the murder scene had taken place in a room a lot like that one. She took a shaky breath and decided to go downstairs.

The bookshop was creepy at night, even with the light on. River attempted to distract herself by humming tunelessly and randomly taking books off the shelves. It didn't work. She took a fluttery little breath and tried to calm her jumpy nerves.

_Think about your date tomorrow,_ she thought to herself, and suddenly she felt weightless, as if everything that had been worrying her had floated away. Because she had a _date. _For the first time in goodness knows how long, she had a _date. _She started to hum tunelessly again, but this time she twirled gracelessly around the shop, her hair flying out around her shoulders as she laughed and spun about in her dark blue nightie.

Then, rather abruptly, she stopped spinning. How could she have agreed to this? She was leaving for Egypt, for goodness sakes. There was nothing sensible or rational about fancying a man she was going to have to leave behind.

She was going to break it off. She was going to tell him, firmly but politely, that she didn't think she could handle a relationship at this time, but when she came back, if he was still there, she'd be happy to try again.

On the desk, her phone chimed.

River picked it up with a puzzled frown. One new text. She opened it.

_You should be in bed, Doctor Song. Although I do like that nightie._

River jerked her head up. Across the street, the second-floor light was on, and the Doctor was waving to her in pajamas patterned with dinosaurs. Now was her time, she knew, but all of her resolve crumbled at the happiness in his eyes.

She _couldn't. _He was too sweet to give up. And besides, it wasn't like she was going to fall in love in two months.

_Quite the peeping Tom, aren't we? _River texted back. _Not that I mind ;) See you tomorrow, sweetie._

She looked up and waved at the Doctor before heading upstairs, waiting until she was a good distance away from the window to drop her head against the door with a defeated sigh. Obviously, this was _not _going to work, so she supposed she'd just have to go with the flow.

However a bad idea "going with the flow" might appear to be.

* * *

The next day, when Amy came by to pick up her kids and take them out for the day, River was carefully applying makeup as her daughters watched with eager reverence. Her mother opened the bedroom door and coughed loudly.

"Mum!" said River with a warm smile, meticulously putting on a last touch of mascara. "Thanks so much for doing this."

"_Melody!_" Amy gasped in surprise as River stood up to show off her dress.

It was black, but not of the short and clingy variety that most women seemed to favor. Instead, it was more elegant, with a flowing skirt and loose, long sleeves. The dress was remarkably low-cut, but the modesty everywhere else made it seem to work, surprisingly enough. Her normally unruly hair was teased into a sort of Marilyn Monroe style, her lipstick impeccably applied.

"I've still got the heels to put on," said River rather proudly. "They're a bit tall, but not unreasonably so."

Amy sputtered.

"She looks like a princess," said Charlotte proudly.

"A pretty one," Ella added. "But I don't like princesses. They're too frilly. Mum's one of the not-frilly ones. The pretty ones."

"Melody, you—you just—you don't normally dress up this much just for a date," Amy finally managed weakly.

"He's taking me dancing," River replied bashfully. "I figured that I'd need to be prepared." She turned to the mirror and smiled a cocky, flirty smile that made her eyes sparkle and a happiness begin in her stomach. "A _date,_" she added gleefully.

"You'll have to tell me all about it," said Amy with a smirk. "He must be quite special. I thought that you were going to Egypt soon?"

"I haven't thought that far ahead yet," River answered evasively. "Charlotte, can you get out the red heels?"

"The _red _ones!" Charlotte crowed in delight, running for her mother's lineup of shoes next to the bed and picking out a pair of shiny, dark red heels. She handed them to River with absolute worship. "They're absolutely _gorgeous, _Mum, you'd better wear them right!"

Amused at being instructed by her daughter, River's smile widened and she replied, "I most certainly will."

* * *

The bell on the shop door rang at 11:45, and the Doctor came in wearing a top hat and tails (at least, according to Josh, who came up in a breathless hurry before leaving with Amy to notify River that the Doctor had arrived and received the cookies). River descended the stairs into the back room and took a breath to steady her nerves.

"You're going to be great," she told herself. "You'll be fine, Melody Pond. It's not like this first date has a huge impact on the way your life's going to go. You're leaving soon anyway." She fidgeted with her purse and strode out as confidently as she could, trying to act as aloof as she could.

The Doctor stared at her with an incredulously besotted smile, still holding the cookies under one arm. Good lord, he was obvious. It was adorable.

"Hello, sweetie," River purred, moving forward and taking his free arm. _Oh good grief. So much for aloof. _It was something about his eyes. Or maybe his hair. She wasn't quite sure why her thoughts didn't seem to control her mouth and movements anymore; she'd never been like this around anyone before.

"Right," said the Doctor, his eyes fixed on her face. "Right. Shall we—that is—dancing! I'm taking you dancing! Let's go! It's going to be…" His voice trailed off as he stared at her some more, his eyes a bit cloudy.

"Are we going?" River teased in amusement.

"Right! Yes. Going. Car. Good." The Doctor walked carefully to the door, River letting go of his arm to follow him.

"You know," said River conversationally, "you don't look half bad yourself."

At first she wasn't sure if the Doctor had heard her—he just sort of kept on walking—but then she saw that his smile was twisting and curling as if it couldn't really stay still. As if she'd just blessed him with the most wonderful news he'd ever heard.

She was fairly certain that she was absolutely doomed to fall in love with him.

_This was not part of the plan._

* * *

The Doctor's car was a shiny dark blue and vintage—possibly from the 1960s. He looked extremely proud as he escorted her carefully to the passenger seat. "Here she is!" he said proudly. "My old girl. Her name's TARDIS."

"Your car…has a name?"

"Of _course _my car has a name," said the Doctor with a playfully insulted tone, opening the car door for River. "TARDIS!"

"I'm assuming it's an acronym?" River asked, and then stopped talking save for a breathless "Oh…" A bouquet of blue roses were lying on the passenger seat. It was a sizable bouquet, all of the flowers lovely and fresh and making the Doctor's car smell like roses.

"Oh _no,_" said the Doctor weakly, letting go of River's arm. "I _knew _I'd forgotten something. Hang on, you just—stand there and try not to, um, fall—"

"I _have _worn heels before, you know, sweetie," said River, her teasing meant to cover up the fact that she had absolutely no idea what was going on and why she was starting to feel like there was something fluttering in her stomach. Not butterflies exactly. Something a bit larger that made her smile a little.

"—yeah, just—_damn _it. I was going to give them to you when you came down." The Doctor stepped in front of River and picked up the bouquet, handing them to her with a sheepish smile. "Got them from my friend Sophie. She used to work in an office, but now she's a florist, and she and her husband really like me because I got them together, so she gave me these for free. Do you like them? Sophie thought I should give you red roses, but I thought that you're a more interesting person, so you should get a more interesting rose to—"

River, taking the roses, pressed a kiss to the Doctor's cheek, cutting off the nonsensical ramble. Maybe she wouldn't have been so absolutely blatant if not for the fact that she was starting to get really cold and wanted to get into the car, or for the fact that he was absolutely, positively, the sweetest man she'd ever met and she wasn't sure how to express that. "Thank you for the flowers," she said, "sweetie."

The Doctor smiled broadly.

* * *

It turned out that he couldn't drive at _all._

"Take the brakes off!" River shouted over the noise of the TARDIS's engines.

"There aren't any brakes!" the Doctor shouted back as he continued to drive, ignoring the fact that he had very nearly crashed into the back of a car at one of the red lights.

"The blue foot pedal!" River said, forgetting to yell in her absolute amazement at his idiocy. "You're pushing on the blue foot pedal!"

"What?"

"YOU'RE PUSHING ON THE BLUE FOOT PEDAL!"

"Oh. Yeah. That _might _explain that noise."

"It sounds like some sort of spaceship," River muttered as the Doctor took his foot off of the brakes and the clattering died down.

"That's why it's called TARDIS," the Doctor explained, taking his eyes off of the road to talk to River. He somehow managed _not _to run into a frightened pedestrian. River was rather impressed. "Time And Relative Dimension In Space."

"Are you going to look at the road, or are we going to go to jail for the first date because you run something over?" River asked pointedly.

"Um, the idea is I impress you with my dancing skills this afternoon, so I'm probably for looking at the road," the Doctor replied, turning his head back to the street. River rolled her eyes fondly.

* * *

"So I know someone here, his name's Jack, and he got us the free passes," the Doctor explained proudly as they entered the dance hall. "Maybe I'll introduce you to him…someday."

"I didn't even know they _had _dance halls anymore," said River with delight, looking around the enormous ballroom with amazement. Forties hits played as couples danced enthusiastically all around them. "It's gorgeous in here. I bet you take all the girls here," she added with a light laugh.

"What—oh! Oh, no, um, just—just you," the Doctor replied awkwardly.

"Ah," said River, deciding not to press the issue, and then smiled widely. "Show me your moves, then," she said, twirling lightly in front of him (in _heels, _which her mother had always told her was one of her most impressive talents) to take his hands.

"Well, I haven't really—aah!"

River pulled him onto the dance floor and began to waltz with him. It wasn't really a waltzing sort of song, but she didn't particularly care.

"Can't waltz," said the Doctor awkwardly. "Actually, I can't really _dance._"

"And you were going to impress me with your dancing skills _how?_" River asked in amusement.

"Um, I was going to do a thing. Can we change the subject?"

"What _thing?_"

"It was a thing in progress. Respect the thing."

"Okay," said River. "Put your hand at my waist—like that, yeah—and I put my hand on your shoulder, and then I take your other hand, and then—" She carefully began to lead him to the tune of the music. "Ow," she said as he stepped on her toe, which he somehow managed to make hurt even when she was in heels.

"Sorry," the Doctor whispered, looking sheepish, and they continued to waltz. River grinned as the song began to end. "Can you _tango, _Doctor?" she asked excitedly, glancing at the queue for the songs. "I think the next one's a tango."

"Oh," said the Doctor weakly.

The tango started up, and River continued leading the Doctor. Gracefully, she dipped him, so that his head was inches from the floor. "One-two-three-four," she whispered half to herself, pulling the Doctor back to his feet, and they danced. She'd taken dancing lessons when she was nine, simply because she wanted to be a spy back then and it seemed like all the spies needed to know how to dance.

"You know what they say about tangoing," the Doctor commented, a rosy blush dusting his cheeks and his bowtie crooked.

"I have a feeling that I do," River remarked, twirling him. "What do they say about tangoing, then?"

"Takes two to tango," said the Doctor proudly. River immediately stopped dancing to stare at him. "What?"

"Are you even _aware _of how silly that sounds?" she asked incredulously.

The Doctor giggled and attempted to twirl _her, _instead very nearly crashing them both into another couple. After a very hasty round of apologies (mostly delivered by the Doctor), the Doctor and River continued to dance.

"Do you know the song?" the Doctor asked. "You know, _it takes two to tango. Two to tango. Two to really get the feeling of romance—_"

"You know, you really can't sing when there's another song going on," River said with a laugh. "Your song gets lost."

"I sing better than anything," said the Doctor with mock pompousness.

"Oh, yeah?" River whispered, leaning forward to whisper in his ear. She thought that she felt him shiver as she drew her hands up to his shoulders, her fingers gently smoothing the wrinkles of his suit jacket. "Well, I sing better than _you._"

"Yes, dear," said the Doctor dazedly as she pulled away.

"You won't let me win _every _single argument like that, I hope," River teased, continuing to dance with him. "It would get rather boring, I'm sure."

The Doctor grinned.

* * *

**As always, reviews are appreciated.**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	7. In Which River Becomes Mrs Chivalry

**A bit longer than my normal chapters, due to my meticulous editing and adding of a few extra scenes.**

* * *

"So where are we off to now?" River asked as they exited the dance hall, both of them grinning and sufficiently flushed. Even though a surprise snowfall had begun outside, neither of them were really very cold. She buttoned up her long trench coat and arranged it artfully so that its normally low-cut front covered everything up to her neck. "My mum's got the kids until about eight-thirty tonight, and it's almost two."

"Well," said the Doctor, taking her arm, "I _did _make reservations at a fancy restaurant, but I just canceled them while you were in the restroom, so we're heading somewhere else instead. This is a bit off the map."

"I'm all for off the map," said River cheerfully. "Lead on, sweetie." He took her to the car, opened the door for her, and let go of her arm. River carefully lifted the blue roses off of the front seat before sitting down with them in her lap. "Has anyone ever told you that you have an absolutely _gorgeous _car?"

"Generally," said the Doctor shyly, "they say she's an old rust bucket. But I try and maintain her."

"She's _gorgeous,_" River told him. "I used to fix cars when I was at a dig in France two years ago, and I've never seen one in better condition, especially considering that you probably don't have all of the right tools for the job. She looks beautiful."

"Thanks," said the Doctor, walking around to the other side and getting in next to her. "Right, then! River Song, are you ready for The Rose and Crown?"

"Sounds like a pub," said River.

"It is," the Doctor replied, "but there's someone there who I'd like you to meet."

* * *

The Rose and Crown had a sort of medieval feel to it. There were no chairs, only wooden benches with tables in front of them. People were laughing and drinking and having a generally good time, and River felt horribly out of place in her high heels.

"Wait," the Doctor whispered, and then he shouted, "Oi! Clara!"

A short brunette barmaid whirled, nearly dropping the plates that she was carrying, and hastily set the plates down on the table to run over. "John!" she gasped, staring at him incredulously. "Thought you had a date with that lady you said you fancy?"

"Um, Clara, shut up," said the Doctor, blushing.

"Clara?" said River in surprise. "As in your sister Clara? Oh! He mentioned you! Pleasure to meet you." She stuck out her hand.

Clara took River's hand and shook it with a friendly smile. "You must be River," she said. "John mentions you _all _the time when he calls home. 'Oh, and today I visited River and she _smiled _at me! I think I'm going to ask her out on a—"

"I _will _kill you, Clara," the Doctor warned, his blush becoming even more noticeable.

"Shut it," said Clara. "This is revenge for you embarrassing me in front of Danny."

River laughed. "I can already see that you two are related."

Clara grinned widely. "I like her, Doctor. But still, an actual _girl! _You're the first person he's ever asked out on a date, did you know that?" The Doctor ducked his head as River stared at him incredulously. "This is for telling Danny that I talked about him nonstop at the dinner table and analyzed all of the details of whatever he said to me that day," Clara added to the Doctor.

"Yes, but Clara,_ this is infinitely more embarrassing,_" the Doctor hissed at his shoes.

"Don't care," said Clara smugly. River decided that she very much liked the Doctor's sister.

"I thought that the Doctor said you were a teacher?" said River hesitantly.

"Oh, yeah, definitely!" said Clara cheerfully. "I just take on a lot of odd jobs. That idiot over there calls me 'the Impossible Girl' just because I manage about a million different things."

"It _is _impossible," said the Doctor, looking up, a rosy red blush still lingering around his ears.

"Right, then!" Clara said brightly. "Let me just let the boss know that I'm going out early, and we can all go to a nice little chip shop I know. I'll meet you there." She hurried off, leaving an amused River with an embarrassed Doctor.

"In retrospect," he said, "probably not a good idea."

"I appreciate the sentiment of your introducing me to your sister," said River, trying very hard not to laugh, "but I think that she's going to want to go on our date with us as revenge—" Her self-control failed her and she burst into peals of hysterical laughter, losing the dignity that she thought she might have reasonably maintained in front of the Doctor so far.

"River!" said the Doctor in surprise, and then she heard him begin to laugh too, leaning against her for support. She used the term _heard _because her eyes were screwed tightly shut—

Clara, who had apparently returned from telling her boss that she was leaving, coughed pointedly and loudly.

The Doctor managed to collect himself, but it took River about a minute to subside into little giggles and thirty seconds more to stop laughing all together. When she was completely done, she realized how ridiculous she must have looked and was tempted to hide under the nearest wooden table until the Doctor said shyly, "If that's the way you laugh, I should make an idiot of myself more often."

"Don't worry, sweetie, you do plenty of that," said River breathlessly.

"I was _going _to tell you two that my boss wants me to stay about an hour more," said Clara. "Sorry, but I think my revenge on Johnny Boy is going to have to be postponed."

"Johnny Boy?" River repeated.

"Oh, yeah, when he was seven he wouldn't go by anything else," said Clara triumphantly. "See you. Good luck on the date, John!" she sang, skipping off to retrieve the plates she'd been carrying.

"Johnny Boy," said River incredulously.

"This was a very bad idea," said the Doctor.

"I'm having a lot of fun," said River, turning to face the Doctor so that she could place her hands on his shoulders and press another kiss to his cheek. "Thank you, sweetie. It's not over yet, I hope?"

"I'm going to take you over to a nice little place," the Doctor replied after a pause during which he stared at her and smiled like an idiot, "and we are never going to speak of this again."

"I think this was the best part of the entire date," River teased.

"Shut up, Song."

"No, I'm serious!" River giggled, and then, "_Johnny Boy._"

The Doctor huffed, grinned, and started leading her to the car. "Your feet must really hurt in those," he observed. "D'you want to take them off before we get to the restaurant?"

"I don't have any other shoes at the moment," River replied. "They're much more attractive than they are functional."

"I don't want your feet to hurt during our date," the Doctor stated. To River's utter shock, he neatly picked her up bridal-style and started carrying her to the car, continuing to talk as if nothing was odd about the situation. "So I was thinking of this nice tea shop," he commented, carefully maneuvering them around a rather raucous group of men and their pints. "They've got the _loveliest _petit fours. But I wasn't sure if you'd like a tea shop or a chip shop, so I picked a fancy restaurant, but like I said, I canceled that one."

River was too stunned to speak.

"And so I think we should go to the tea shop, because it's December, and they've got petit fours shaped like Christmas trees and snowmen and stuff like that, you know, for the holidays," the Doctor continued cheerfully, and then, "Are you all right?" River nodded dumbly as they exited the Rose and Crown.

The Doctor carefully opened the door with his elbow, still not putting her down (but accidentally pulling her very close, which River registered that she rather enjoyed) until the door was open. He then deposited her in the front seat. "Never doing that again," he said weakly. "I mean, I'm sure it was a lovely gesture until I started actually talking, but I don't think that I can carry you."

River burst out laughing again, and the Doctor grinned like he'd just won the Olympics. He slid her shoes off of her feet and placed them on the dashboard. "I highly doubt that's legal," River commented.

"Oh, nobody checks the vintage cars for legality," the Doctor replied dismissively.

"Sure?"

"I'll get back to you on that," muttered the Doctor. "Let me Google it."

"You're one of those Googlers, aren't you?" groaned River.

"What?"

"Compulsive Googler," River replied. "Has to Google everything, whether or not it's important."

"Oi! Don't knock Google! I love Google!" the Doctor gasped in a wounded manner, reeling against the seat as he started up the car, his foot pressed firmly on the brake. River watched in bemusement as he floored the gas at the same time. The car began to rattle.

"You know what? I'm driving," said River flatly. "Move over."

"But I'm the one who's supposed to drive!" the Doctor protested, turning off the car as he turned to argue with her.

"Why?"

"Because I'm taking you on a date!"

"And that means that you have to drive the car?" River pointed out, crossing her arms and arching an eyebrow. "Shouldn't I do something too? You're paying for my lunch, remember?"

The Doctor opened his mouth, kept it open for about five seconds while his eyes darted around the car (possibly for some sort of inspiration to come up with a plausible argument), and shut it again with an annoyed exhale through his nose, unbuckling his seat belt before opening the car door and walking around to the other side. River smirked triumphantly and scooted into the driver's seat, turning the engine back on again. "You could let _me _drive her," he mumbled in a last-ditch attempt as he got into the car.

"Yes, or we could go where we're supposed to," River responded.

"Do you even know where we're going?" the Doctor asked with a smug sort of hope.

"I think it's time you let a woman take the wheel, sweetie," River replied with a wicked grin. "I'm taking you to the first place that catches my fancy."

"And what sort of place would that be?" the Doctor muttered, slouching in the passenger seat.

"Spoilers."

"What?"

"Spoilers," said River again, a little surprised that the Doctor didn't figure it out. "Like in books. Spoilers. I can't tell you what's going to happen—it'll spoil the fun." She pulled out of their parking space and began to drive. "Oh, for the—traffic jam," she muttered. "Bloody Christmas. Always so crowded around this time of year."

"I _love _Christmas. A time of peace, benevolence, goodwill, charity, and miracles. Hey, River, you know what would fit all of those qualifications? You could—"

"I am _not _letting you drive the car."

"Damn it." The Doctor sulked for about thirty seconds before shouting, "Oi! You can't touch that! That's not even in working order!"

"Do you even know what it does?" River asked, removing her hand from the small button that she'd been about to press.

"Of course I do, River, it controls the windshield wipers! I'm not an idiot," the Doctor responded irritably.

There was something rather invigorating about bickering with him, especially when River informed him that the button turned on the radio. His response to that was something along the lines of "well, how was I supposed to know?" and River had to bite her lip to focus on the traffic instead of laughing.

"Oooh, a museum!" the Doctor gasped, pressing his nose against the glass as River finally found a parking spot. "I _love _museums!"

River turned to stare at him, so stunned that she very nearly rear-ended a car when she pulled into the spot. "_Really?_" she whispered in an awed voice, completely taken off guard.

Museums were her safe haven when she was a little girl who was constantly bullied and belittled by her classmates. She had been smarter than all of them combined, and they had known it, jealousy and stupidity mingling into a horrible mix. After school, she would always head to the museum and daydream about living in Ancient Egypt, or 1930s Manhattan, or somewhere where everyone would think she was amazing.

Her parents didn't know about any of this. She had never told them. They still believed that she had been best friends with Vanessa Dupree, a snobby rich girl with the intelligence of an amoeba who delighted in making fun of her fashion choices.

The Doctor loved museums too. All of her carefully constructed defenses had been thrown neatly out the window as she stared at him in adoration. The Doctor smiled hesitantly in response. "Shall we, then?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," River whispered, turning off the car and turning to hand the Doctor the keys.

"Okay?" the Doctor asked, not bothering to take the keys. Instead, he leaned forward, his thumb apprehensively tracing her jawline. "Are you okay?" he asked again, shyly.

River opened her mouth to say something—she didn't know what. Maybe she might not have said anything at all. Maybe she would have leaned over and kissed him. But a car horn jerked them out of their world, and she was suddenly brought back to reality with an unpleasant jolt. _Children. Egypt. Leaving. _"Fine," she laughed easily, moving away from him to get out of the car. "Museums, right?" she added airily as she walked around the back of the car to open the Doctor's door for him, the concrete cold on her bare feet. He brought out her high heels. "Oh, don't worry about me—"

"There's glass," said the Doctor, and he picked her up again, this time in a sort of hug where her toes skimmed the pavement, walking over and setting her on the trunk of the car. "Here," he added awkwardly, lifting one of her legs up carefully and trying to put her high heel on. "How do you get them on?" he asked sheepishly.

"You've got the wrong shoe," River pointed out.

"I knew _that._"

"You're blushing."

"I'm _cold._" The Doctor removed the offending red heel from River's foot and tried the other one. She exclaimed loudly as he twisted her ankle at an odd angle. "Sorry!" he gasped, dropping the shoe.

"I'm fine!" River hastily clarified, wiggling her ankle to make sure that it wasn't broken. "Here, just give me the shoe. I'll put it on, sweetie."

"I can do it," the Doctor persisted, picking up the shoe and trying again. This time, he was exceedingly careful, and it took him all of five seconds to get the very tips of her toes in.

"It's not surgery," River pointed out, crossing her arms impatiently.

"Yeah, sorry, I just—" The Doctor looked up at her, blushing furiously. "I'm rubbish, it's rubbish, I'm sorry, here, I'll—I'll get you down."

"No, it's fine!" River laughed, biting her lip. "It really is, it's really fine, just get the shoe on before I decide to murder you in front of a museum."

"With all these witnesses?" gasped the Doctor, "Wouldn't you—um—put on a spacesuit or something?"

"A _spacesuit?_" River snorted.

"It'd hide your face, it wouldn't leave much evidence—"

"How could I murder you if I was wearing a _spacesuit? _And wouldn't that make the murder even more memorable? Why don't we have me come out of a lake and murder you? That would make tabloid headlines."

"Yeah, an astronaut coming out of a lake to murder me," grinned the Doctor. "I think we've just got the plot of a sci-fi novel down pat."

River rolled her eyes fondly before noticing that both her shoes were on. "Oh! Can you—"

"Lift you down? Yeah, course, yes, no problem. That's me, Mr. Chivalry. Not that men are better than women at being chivalrous, I'm sure that you could be plenty chivalrous if you wanted to—not that you're not chivalrous! Am I rambling? I think I'm rambling. Okay. Chivalry. Being chivalrous. Oh, look, you're laughing again. Am I making an idiot of myself?"

"You're lucky that I find it endearing," River laughed, holding her arms out. "Lift me down, Mr. Chivalry. Is that your new name now?"

"Nah, let's just stick with 'Doctor,' I'm accustomed to that one," the Doctor replied, his hands moving to her waist and lifting her neatly off of the trunk. "You're heavy," he commented.

"Trying very hard not to be insulted," River commented.

"Did I just put my foot in my mouth again?"

"Unsurprisingly, yes," River replied, taking the Doctor's arm and leading him up the stairs to the museum. "Is my hair a complete disaster?"

"I don't think I should really answer that question," the Doctor replied evasively. River hit his shoulder lightly. "Ow! So much for Mr. Chivalry, then?"

"Yeah, I think Mr. Chivalry just died."

"Was _he _killed by the astronaut?"

"You're an idiot," River commented fondly, letting go of the Doctor's arm to hold the door for him. "Ladies first."

"_Mr. _Chivalry," the Doctor huffed. "You're Mrs. Chivalry. You go first."

"First date and you're already proposing marriage?" River gasped dramatically. "How daring."

"That—that wasn't—you are absolutely incorrigible!" the Doctor sputtered, going in ahead of her. River let go of the door, walked through, and took his arm again, watching as his eyes lit up when he saw the displays. "Boring, boring, wrong, wrong, boring, wrong, wrong, right, boring," he rattled off, pointing at each display and exhibit in turn.

"I'm never taking you to a museum again," River groaned.

"Wrong!" The Doctor pointed to a small placard in smug disdain. "Bit right, mostly wrong—"

"And you would know this _how?_" River asked in annoyance.

"I can tell," the Doctor replied proudly as they walked past a display on Ancient Egyptian Mummies. "Studied most of this in university. Wrong! Very wrong!"

"People are _staring,_" River informed him.

"Does that bother you?" the Doctor asked with a wide grin.

"Not particularly," River replied. "I'm just bothered by the fact that you're criticizing every single thing in the museum."

"The harsh judgment of my character, however hurtful it may be, is why I asked you out," said the Doctor with condescending superiority.

"You asked me out?" River said innocently, unappreciative of the Doctor's condescension and deciding to take him down a peg. "I thought it was more of some idiot who criticizes museum pieces stuttering 'Well—see—um—well—'"

"Shut it."

"—and then I said 'Yes' because I think that you're quite hot." _Oh god, did I say that? _River kept on looking straight forward as if she'd intended her slip of the tongue.

The Doctor blushed violently. "You _do?_" he said, his voice squeaking a little.

"Mmm," said River conversationally, holding in her laughter (which had been prompted by the squeak) by biting her lip.

"You're making fun of me," said the Doctor with a playful glare.

"Now why would I ever do that? For me to make fun of you, you'd have to be criticizing museum pieces—_oh wait,_" said River smugly. "Already doing that. _Wow. _You know, you're doing all the work for me, sweetie."

"Can you laugh again?"

"What?" The question caught River off guard.

"You have a very nice laugh," said the Doctor shyly. "Can you laugh again?"

"I can't exactly laugh on command," said River with a slight smile.

"See, and that _smile, _you don't usually smile like that. Is it something I'm doing? Because I really want to know so I can do it more often."

"You're telling me you've _never _gone out with anyone before," said River skeptically, amazed at how well he was making little butterflies appear in her stomach.

"Nope."

"You're _serious._"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You're bloody well-spoken, and that's why I think you're joking," River responded with a frown.

"Am I?" the Doctor said, sounding surprised and gratified.

"Most of the time," River said with a smirk, remembering the Doctor's bungled attempt at asking her out.

"What—oi! I don't appreciate that, you know!" the Doctor said indignantly, catching her hand in his. "I am absolutely well-spoken all of the—"

River laughed. Long, loud, and hard, doubling over just as she had in the Rose and Crown. Her hair flew about violently until she looked up with a wide grin, not at all surprised to see that the Doctor was grinning back. "That enough of a laugh for you?" she teased.

"What? No. Yes. Maybe. What was the question?" the Doctor responded, the grin still on his face.

* * *

"So let me get this straight," said the Doctor. "Charlotte likes a biscuit and hot chocolate. Ella likes orange juice and a chocolate chip cookie. Josh likes milk and jammie dodgers—which, by the way, is excellent judgment—and you like absolutely everything sweet?"

"My kids are a bit picky when it comes to their favorite snacks," River replied with a shrug. "They like nearly everything, but there are certain things that they _love _in a combination."

She shifted on the pillow in the window seat of the tea room where she and the Doctor were sitting. A plate of petit fours was on the Doctor's lap, as both of them had finished their meal and decided to spend the rest of their date eating petit fours and chatting.

"No one likes _everything _sweet_,_" the Doctor snorted.

"Oh, so I'm no one then?" River teased. "You really know how to flatter a girl." She took a delighted bite of the petit four the Doctor offered her. "Mm," she said, not quite surprised at how good it was.

"Told you," said the Doctor smugly. "Best petit fours anywhere. Do I get the snowman one?"

"No. I have dibs on that one."

"Why?"

"I like snowmen," River replied.

"Why would you want to eat something that you like?" asked the Doctor hopefully.

"Snowmen are the only ones that have the little chocolate buttons, you _know _that, and you're trying to steal my snowman," said River stubbornly.

"I get to take your heart, then," said the Doctor, gesturing towards the pink heart-shaped petit four River had just picked up.

"No," said River flatly. "I already called my heart."

"You take my snowman, I take your heart."

"It wasn't even _your _snowman to begin with!" River huffed. "It's all fair game if it's on the plate!"

"Put down your heart, River, I want it," said the Doctor. "Here, what if I give you this one?" he added, holding up a purple heart-shaped petit four. "You take my heart, I take yours."

"I'll just keep my heart, thanks," said River, about to take a bite of the petit four.

"Take mine, then," said the Doctor. "You've already stolen my heart anyway."

River dropped the pink petit four on her lap as she burst out laughing. She hadn't _meant _to encourage his hopeless flirting, but it was just so endearing that she couldn't help herself. Her hair (which had fallen out of its careful 'do as the day went on) bounced around violently. "Oh my _god, _are you serious?"

"Saw it in a rom-com last night."

"What, this whole scene?"

"No—well—it was with cookies."

"Was this _planned?_"

"…maybe?"

River picked up the pink petit four. "Here," she said with a slight smile. "Fine. You can have my heart, however cliché that sounds. Do know that I'm being completely _literal_, though, and talking about the petit four_._"

The Doctor gave her a brilliant smile back. "I promise that your heart, whether literal or figurative, is safe with me." He closed their hand around the two petit fours, squishing them both, and they dissolved into laughter again.

* * *

"This was the best date I've ever had," River told him on the front steps of _Paternoster Books_.

"Well, this was the _only _date I've ever had, so I don't have many experiences to contrast, but I really did enjoy it," said the Doctor shyly.

River stared at the Doctor, and something sort of seemed to _click _into place. This man, this ridiculously wonderful, impossibly brilliant man, had stolen her heart as well, and she was starting to think that, given time, she might fall in love with him. But she was leaving in less than two months now, and his timing was impeccably awful, and leaving him was going to shatter both of them if she started a romantic relationship with him.

_Be brave, River, _she thought, putting aside her selfish desire to kiss him. _This is better for both of you._

She took a deep breath and lied.

"Listen," she said, "I really like spending time with you. You're wonderful, you're sweet, and you're absolutely brilliant. But I think I may have given you the wrong impression, and I need to set you straight—I'm not interested in you as anything but a friend, okay?"

The Doctor's smile faded slightly. "Right," he said softly. "Um, yeah. Getting a bit of mixed signals here, because you called it a 'date,' and that's not something that someone who's interested in me as a friend would do."

River exhaled softly. "I don't know," she confessed, twisting her hands together and suddenly realizing how cold her feet were. Noticing this, the Doctor handed her the red high heels so that she wouldn't be standing in bare feet. She donned them hastily, wobbling a little, and then continued, "I don't know how I feel about you. It's easy enough to write it off as a silly chemical attraction, but it's _not, _and I'm leaving in two months for two years, and—"

"I would wait."

"What?" River looked up at him, completely nonplussed.

The Doctor reached forward and hesitantly took her hand, their fingers entwining. "I would wait," he repeated, his eyes soft. "I would wait two years, and I'd be there at the airport with a big bouquet of flowers for you and the kids as soon as you got back. I know that this is going at a ridiculous speed, but there's something about you that's like me and _not _like me at the same time. I really would wait."

"It's easy to say that," said River quietly.

"Pinky swear," said the Doctor sincerely. "But if you want to be just friends, that's fine with me. I'll wait until you come around. I promise." He squeezed her hand, let go, and then pressed a clumsy kiss to her cheek. When he pulled away, River's hand flew to the spot as if it had been burned. "See you around, Doctor River Song," he said with a smile.

"We're going ice skating tomorrow," River said, the words flying unbidden out of her mouth. "You could drop by."

"Better yet, I'll drive you there," the Doctor replied.

"Lovely."

"Wonderful. See you tomorrow," said the Doctor gently. He then turned and headed across the street, and River didn't go inside until the future toy store's door had swung shut. Then she turned reluctantly, hurrying into the warm bookstore and upstairs for a bubble bath.

* * *

"Platonic," said River to the bubbles.

As bubbles are wont to do, the bubbles remained stubbornly silent save for a few _pops. _

"Completely platonic," said River again.

_Pop. _

"And there's nothing I'm going to do to make it a romantic relationship."

Silence.

"Nothing at all."

_Pop. Pop._

"He's definitely attractive, and intelligent, and kind, and sweet, and—oh, I am _doomed._"

_Pop._

River sunk into the bubble bath and contemplated hiding in the bookshop for the next 1.5 months in an effort to avoid the Doctor, although she knew that he'd just drop by anyway and her crush would get worse. She groaned, loudly and dramatically, and reached for the shampoo.

* * *

**As always, reviews are appreciated.**

**-The Eclectic Bookworm**


	8. In Which River Loses Her Temper

**Hello! It's me, with an update and some bad news. Unfortunately, I've decided (after one more chapter that I've already prepared) to put this story on hiatus; it doesn't seem to be going much of anywhere, and I'm having trouble writing it and making it interesting. I'm so sorry to any of you who were really enjoying this, and hopefully I'll come up with an idea or an update sometime soon.**

* * *

Regrettably, River found that she didn't particularly like the blue dress. She'd bought it on a whim a few years back, even though there wasn't really much use for a sweater-dress when she was going on a dig in a hot desert climate, and at the time she'd thought it the epitome of fashion. Now, however, when she was going ice skating with the first man that she actually enjoyed impressing, the dress seemed unappealing.

Unfortunately, she had nothing else warm enough to wear to an ice rink (aside from the brown jacket that made her look like a puffball), not to mention that she was _horrible _at ice skating.

She turned, staring with self-loathing at the figure in the mirror. Her hair was in a loose ponytail, she was wearing a pair of boots, and the sweater-dress seemed to cling to her in all the wrong places.

"Where's my scarf?" she muttered, twisting in the mirror. "I should wear a scarf with this."

She looked ridiculous, though, she was certain, and a scarf wasn't going to change that. She grabbed the bag on her bed (containing their ice skates and some money in case they stopped for lunch) and hurried downstairs.

The Doctor's reaction was entirely unexpected. She'd been expecting one of two things: him to stare at her and pointedly avoid commenting on her dress, or him to "surprise" her by deciding that she looked gorgeous in the dress. (Apparently, being introduced to the Doctor had awakened River's long-buried romantic side.)

Instead, he gave her a half-smile and said, "You look exactly the same as you always do, River Song."

"What, overheating in a blue sweater-dress?"

"No. Can't say it in front of your kids." The Doctor was blushing slightly, but grinning as he leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "Ridiculously attractive."

River rolled her eyes. She wasn't really happy enough at the moment to buy that. "You flatter me too much, sweetie."

"Are we going to _go, _or are you two going to _flirt _all day?" Charlotte demanded from where she was standing impatiently by the door, a large biscuit that she'd taken from the refrigerator clutched in her mittened hand. "Hurry up! If we don't get there soon, I won't be able to show the Doctor how brilliant of a skater I am!"

"I'm good too," huffed Ella.

"I'm bad," Josh declared proudly. "Just like Mummy."

River flushed. "I'm a rubbish skater," she said to the Doctor. "But the kids love it because my mum and dad used to take them, so, you know, who am I to deny them what they want?"

The Doctor stared at her incredulously. "_No,_" he whispered. "You _don't like skating?_ Is _that _why you're all grumpy?"

"Is there something wrong with that?" River asked shortly.

"Only that I'm going to have to fix it!" the Doctor declared dramatically, grabbing River's hand in his mittened one (oh god he wore _mittens_ that was seriously really adorable) and leading her out of the shop. "Geronimo, Ponds, eh?"

"What's that mean?" Ella asked, climbing into the backseat of the Doctor's car.

"It means 'let's go' or something like that," the Doctor replied, sounding slightly unsure.

"It's what you say when you jump off a cliff," Josh explained matter-of-factly, scooting in next to Ella and moving over to make room for Charlotte.

"I like your car," said Charlotte shyly.

"My car likes you," the Doctor replied with a wide grin, starting up the TARDIS cheerfully. "So, River, where are we headed?"

They weren't going skating at an actual ice rink. They were going skating on a pond, which the Doctor found somewhat hilarious ("Ponds on a pond!"). It was a long drive, though, and the children started to get bored with listening to their mother read the Doctor directions (courtesy of Google Maps). Soon enough, bickering started up.

"Mummy!" Ella whined. "Josh has his foot on my foot and he won't move his foot!"

"Ella won't give me back my biscuit, Mum!" Charlotte commented indignantly. "She said she was only going to take one bite, but she took _two!_"

"Mummy, everybody's _shouting,_" Josh moaned. "Why is everybody shouting?"

"Right turn on Hillrise," River said, trying to ignore her children. Generally, ignoring her children's arguments worked about ninety percent of the time; one of the children (usually Charlotte) would take charge of the situation and solve the problem. However, this looked like it was going to be the unfortunate ten percent.

"Is that its actual name?" the Doctor asked with interest, making the turn. "Not very imaginative." River laughed softly and put her hand over his on the steering wheel. The Doctor grinned and blushed.

"Mum, make Ella give me back my biscuit!"

"Mummy, Josh isn't moving!"

"Mummy, it's too _loud _in the car!"

"Okay, now turn left onto Emery," said River, trying not to get annoyed by the cacophony of voices from the backseat. It had started to snow, and the windshield wipers weren't really working fast enough. She pushed the button again.

"Sorry, what?" the Doctor replied, completely missing the turn-off. "Oh, bugger, did you say _Emery?_"

"Get _off, _Josh! Your shoes are making my shoes dirty!"

"Your shoes are dirty anyway, Ella, what does it matter?"

"Ella, _I want my biscuit!_"

"Emery, yes, it was back there—" River gestured to the street sign. She wasn't quite sure what she was more frustrated about: the fact that the windshield wipers wouldn't work right, the fact that they'd missed the left turn, or the fact that her kids would not stop arguing.

"No left turns, and we can't turn off until Chrysanthemum," groaned the Doctor. "I'm going to have to turn right on Chrysanthemum and drive down until—what, Hanover? I think Hanover crosses Chrysanthemum, so we can drive down Hanover until we get to Emery. I think. So I guess we're circling round."

"My shoes aren't as dirty as yours, so _get your feet off!_"

"I'm _comfy now!_"

Charlotte, losing patience with the entire situation, leaned across Josh to grab her biscuit back. Josh, squished between his sisters, uttered an indignant howl, and Ella tried to grab the biscuit back.

"Circling round?" River repeated, deciding that her only option was to ignore her kids until she and the Doctor had sorted their route out, however much she wanted them all to shut up. "We can't circle round! Chrysanthemum's closed off on that side! The Nobles live down there, they were telling me that Chrysanthemum's having street cleaning!" She hit the button for the windshield wipers yet again, and it _still _wouldn't cooperate.

"_What? _Okay, so we'll turn off on whatever's after Chrysanthemum—"

"_Mum!_" yelled Ella angrily.

"No, that still won't work, because we're going to have to cross Chrysanthemum if we turn off on the next street, and it's closed off—"

"All the way?" the Doctor asked. "I'm sure the street cleaning stops at some point, right?"

"I don't know how far it's—"

"_Move, _Charlotte!" Josh yelled, pushing Charlotte so that she hit the back of the Doctor's seat. Charlotte burst into tears as her biscuit crumbled, and Ella dived for a piece. Unfortunately for Ella, Josh's foot impeded her progress.

"No, River, this is important, how far is Chrysanthemum closed off?"

"Um—"

"Move your feet!" Ella shrieked.

"I won't!" Josh hollered.

"I hate you all!" Charlotte wailed.

"SHUT IT!" shouted River, completely losing her temper as she hammered on the button for the windshield wipers.

There was suddenly a dead silence in the car. The Doctor's eyes were wide and frightened, Josh moved his feet from where they were resting on top of Ella's, Ella stopped trying to get the last piece of Charlotte's biscuit, and Charlotte immediately stopped crying.

"Stop the car," said River to the Doctor. "Pull over, right now. I don't care if you find parking or what, pull over, and we are getting outside _right now _and resolving this."

"Yes, dear," said the Doctor meekly, glancing fearfully at her before pulling into a (thankfully) nearby parking space. River got out of the car, her kids following. The Doctor stayed inside.

"Get out here, sweetie," said River in exasperation. "I'm going to need some moral support." The Doctor got out of the car with a slight smile on his face and walked over to the group. "Right," snapped River. "I don't care _what _was going on in the car. I've heard enough of it to know that it's ridiculous and does not need to be discussed, and all of you have behaved _ridiculously._ Not you," she added as the Doctor cringed. "So you are going to be _quiet _for the entire ride to the pond, or no one is going ice skating. Got it?"

Her kids nodded, all of them stunned into silence.

"Good," said River shortly. "Back in the car, _now. _Doctor, just drive us to the pond. I don't care how you do it, just _get us there _before I throttle someone."

The Doctor didn't move.

"Doctor—"

"No," said the Doctor gently. "We're going to go to that little café I saw out the window a few minutes ago, and we're going to all get hot chocolates, and you're going to feel quite a lot better, okay?"

"But we're supposed to go ice skating," said River lamely.

The Doctor moved forward and took her hand. "Come on," he said gently, sticking out his other hand. A snuffling Charlotte took it. Josh took River's free hand, and Ella ran back to lock the car before taking Josh's hand, albeit a bit reluctantly.

* * *

The café was cozy and warm, and River immediately felt her mood improve as she inhaled the sweet aroma of pastries and coffee. The Doctor smiled smugly, as if he knew that he'd been right.

"I'm ordering for everyone," he told the kids. "Your mum's going to get us a table, and I'm going to see if I can guess what you're going to want, okay?"

Charlotte scrubbed at her eyes with her sleeve, Ella nodded, and Josh started to ask, "Can I have the—" before the Doctor placed a finger to the boy's lips and shook his head.

"I'm guessing, remember?" he reminded them, and hurried to get in line.

"Right, then, what do you think about that place over there?" River asked, awkwardly shepherding her children into the booth. Ella sat down nearest the wall, Charlotte sat down on the other side nearest the wall, and Josh didn't sit down. "Josh?" River said shortly. "Going to sit down?"

"I don't want to sit next to either of them," Josh replied huffily.

"Charlotte," said River, "get over on the other side and sit next to Ella. Josh, sit next to Charlotte. You are going to sit on the same side and you are going to _be civil _to each other, because I am _not _really interested in working out another argument, okay?" She tried to sound gentle, she really did, but her patience was wearing thin. They wouldn't have had this problem in the first place if the kids had just been quiet and the Doctor had turned onto Emery.

After some reluctant rearrangements had been made, River sat down on the other side of the booth, scooting over so that the Doctor could sit down next to her.

"Right," said the Doctor cheerfully. "Charlotte, I ordered a biscuit and a hot chocolate for you. That right?" he added innocently. River, remembering their conversation in the tea shop, smiled reluctantly as Charlotte nodded in awe. "Ella, I ordered orange juice and a chocolate chip cookie for you, and Josh has milk and jammie dodgers coming his way."

"How did you do that?" Josh demanded in amazement.

"I've got secret magic powers," the Doctor stage-whispered. River laughed out loud at that, and the Doctor grinned like he'd just won the lottery. "So what are we going to do while we wait for the food? I don't think your mum can really handle any sort of argument right now, and I _really _don't think that it was very admirable of all of you to confuse us both when we were trying to get you to a place where you were going to have a lot of fun." His voice was still cheerful, and he was still smiling, but his eyes weren't sparkling like they normally did. Charlotte, Josh, and Ella all seemed to notice the difference.

"Sorry," Ella mumbled.

"Oh, I don't mind," the Doctor dismissed, and then, "I do, actually, a little bit, but it's your mum who minds more, so if you would hold off on arguing for the rest of the day, for _her _sake, that would really be very brilliant."

That moment, right there, was the moment when River realized she was in over her head. It was barely a week since she'd first met him, and already she had a phenomenally large crush on him—what was it going to be like when she had to leave him on the thirtieth?

* * *

When the food came, River was surprised to find that the Doctor had managed to convince the waitress to bring them both an enormous bowl of custard and enough fish fingers for two. He'd gotten her a cup of tea, and he had a glass of lemonade.

"Like it?" he said cheerfully. "See, this is the punishment for your kids. They're not allowed to have our _brilliant _fish fingers and custard. They have to have their disgusting food instead, right, River?"

"You awful man, you're putting me in a good mood," River groaned, leaning closer to rest her head on his shoulder. It was strange how easily she could lean into him and how smoothly he handled it, his arm snaking casually around her waist as if she'd leaned against him a thousand times. "Here I was all prepared to wallow while I skated."

"Wallowing's never any fun, dear," said the Doctor gently, using his free hand to dip a fish finger into custard. "Want one?"

River hummed in contentment and dipped her own fish finger.

"They're _so _getting married," Charlotte whispered to Ella and Josh completely audibly, making River blush and smile and shift a bit so that her cheek was pressed against the Doctor's tweed jacket—

"Your jacket's itchy," River complained, moving away from the Doctor and scratching her cheek. "How the hell do you survive wearing that thing?"

The Doctor laughed. "It looks attractive on me, though, doesn't it?"

"You _wish,_" River snorted.

"Oi! I said that you look attractive in everything _just this morning—_" The Doctor suddenly realized that Charlotte, Ella, and Josh were all hanging eagerly onto his every word, and blushed furiously. "Sorry," he mouthed to River.

"Oh my god you're in love!" Charlotte giggled. "It's so exciting! Is he going to come to Egypt with us, Mummy? You could get married on a pyramid!"

"Um," said the Doctor with a sheepish smile. "I've sort of only known River for a little more than a week, so marrying her would be quite irrational."

"Indeed," River agreed, ignoring the silly voice in the back of her head that stated that although it was irrational, it certainly didn't seem to be a bad idea.

* * *

The Doctor, unsurprisingly, had been right about taking them out to the café. When they paid the bill, the entire group was in a much better mood.

"I hope you and your husband have a great day," the waitress told River sincerely as she took the check. "You looked a right mess when you came in here, love."

"Oh," said the Doctor, blushing furiously, "we're not—that is—"

"We're not married," River clarified for the Doctor.

"Yet," said Charlotte loudly.

"_Charlotte!_" said River, trying not to laugh at the shade of red the Doctor had turned. She placed a sympathetic hand on his arm, and the Doctor gave her a grateful smile in return. "Thanks so much, especially for the fish fingers and custard," River told the waitress. "It was really wonderful."

They then strolled out of the café, the Doctor picking up Ella when she started to complain about snow getting on her boots, and River wondered what they looked like to people who didn't know them. A family, perhaps? It was true that she felt more comfortable around the Doctor than she did with most other people, and it was true that she had more than a small crush on him, but could she imagine him as part of her family?

_Yes,_ said her inner romantic, and she had to smile, taking Josh's hand in one of hers and Charlotte's in the other. Snow landed on her nose, and she grinned widely.

* * *

By the time they finally reached the frozen-over pond, it was nearly sunset. River couldn't find it in herself to mind, however. "Okay," she said. "Charlotte, you're an expert, so I want you to keep an eye on Josh and Ella. The Doctor and I are going to relax on the picnic blanket I brought, and if you want snacks, you can come over and stop skating for a bit. I packed—well, it was going to be lunch, but I guess it's dinner now, so we're going to have a winter dinner picnic, I suppose. That's _after _skating and once all of you are hungry, though—"

"No," said the Doctor flatly. "Sorry, but no. You, Doctor Song, are going to skate."

"Out of the question," River replied dismissively. "Not going to happen, Doctor."

"Skate, Mummy, skate!" Josh cheered.

"I am _not _sitting idly by," the Doctor continued stubbornly. "I brought my skates." River was opening her mouth to refuse, but then she remembered how she hadn't wanted to go to the café and how much fun that had been. "Come on, Rivah," he coaxed, saying her name in that way that only he could. "I promise I'll catch you. I caught you when you jumped out of that spaceship, remember?" he teased.

"…I suppose," River grudgingly conceded, putting down the bag, sitting down on a nearby log, and taking out her ice skates. The Doctor sat down next to her and took out his, kicking off his shoes carelessly and wincing as one of them hit a tree.

"I'll get that later," he muttered to her, blushing furiously.

River snorted and gracefully took off her boots, sliding into her ice skates and lacing them up. She didn't stand up until the Doctor was completely ready, which took about five minutes (due to the fact that he had to go and get his shoe in ice skates, which was great fun to watch from the log), and when she did, she wobbled on the snowy ground.

"Okay," said the Doctor, moving to stand in front of her. "However rubbish my coordination may be _off _the ice, _on _the ice it's an entirely different story. I can assure you that I'll be able to keep you steady."

"I trust you."

The Doctor grinned widely and took River's hands in his, stepping backwards onto the ice. "Eyes on me, Song," he coaxed as she gasped loudly and gripped his hands tightly. She could already feel the cool slickness of the ice, even through her skates. "Come on. Eyes on me."

Charlotte was spinning in giddy circles around the pond, giggling madly. Ella was holding Josh's hands patiently, their squabble forgotten as she made sure that he didn't topple over. River felt ridiculous. "I can't—"

"Course you can. Here—" The Doctor let go of one of her hands and placed it on his shoulder. "Can you _dance, _River?" he whispered playfully, and she laughed out loud as his free hand went to her waist. "Just a silly little waltz. No ice tangoing, I promise."

"Ice tangoing."

"Yes, granted, that _does _sound a little silly now that I think about it—"

"_Ice _tangoing."

"Don't tease me," grumbled the Doctor.

"Is that a _thing _now?" River snorted.

The Doctor spun her on the ice (when had they gotten to the middle of the pond?) carefully, his hand on her waist keeping her balanced. "One-two-three-four," he counted softly, and started singing. "_It takes two to tango—_see, now I can actually sing that, because there's no other music going on. _Two to tango, two to really get the feeling of romance—_I don't really know most of the rest of it. Does it repeat itself?"

"Sweetie, you're the only one who knows the song," River laughed. "Don't ask me."

"Ugh, _fine, _you pick a song. Be my IPod, River Song."

"Just what every girl wants to hear," River snorted. "I don't know any good songs."

"According to Josh, you sang in the shower with a funny voice. Can't I hear that one?"

River groaned. "I _knew _you'd ask at some point."

"Can I—"

"Nope."

"Fine," huffed the Doctor. "I'll just have to sing something. Should I sing you a horrendous modern pop song? I could sing you that Katy Berry one."

"Katy Perry, sweetie."

"What?"

"It's Katy Perry. Not Katy Berry. I'm pretty sure that even Josh knows that," River added, unable to resist getting a little dig in.

"Well, how was _I _supposed to know?" huffed the Doctor. "Katy Perry, Katy Berry—they sound really similar to me."

River laughed, and suddenly she realized that she was no longer so close to the Doctor. His hand was still gripping hers, and they were still facing each other, but there was a good two feet of distance between them—and she was _balanced. _Really, properly balanced, so that she wasn't scared of falling. "How did you do that?" she demanded in amazement.

"Um, actually, I didn't," the Doctor replied sheepishly. "My skates keep on sliding funny."

"Sure."

"It's true!"

River laughed again, letting go of his hand—but apparently that was too much, too soon, because she wobbled on the ice. She'd gone skating with her parents when she was small, but she'd never quite picked up the knack for it, and they'd given up taking her when she was seven. Then, to her astonishment, the Doctor moved forward and grabbed her waist, pulling her forward and into him. She let out a small gasp at the realization of how close they were before the Doctor's mouth very nearly found hers.

In retrospect, he'd probably intended to balance her and slipped a bit, bringing them close in his efforts to keep her steady, but River had slipped at the same time and they'd collided. They both pulled back immediately before any damage could be done, but to an outsider, it would have looked like a stolen kiss.

Charlotte's excited cheer broke them apart. "Oh my _gosh!_" she shouted, skating up to them with unparalleled finesse (at least, unparalleled in the Song-Pond household). "That was a kiss!"

"That was most definitely not a kiss," said the Doctor weakly. "That was an accidental almost-collision which was your mum's fault entirely."

"Don't believe you," Charlotte replied stubbornly.

"Pinky promise," River said, one hand moving from the Doctor's shoulder to hold out her hand to Charlotte. Charlotte shook pinkies with her mother, still looking skeptical as she let go and skated away.

"Sorry," said the Doctor. "I just didn't want you to fall."

"Quite all right, sweetie," River replied, and they resumed their twirling around the ice, but both of them were blushing.


End file.
